Mr. Derderian wearing ribbons at an orphanage
My father Martin (Mardiros) Derderian was born in Palou, Turkey on March 1, 1915. He was the younger son of Gulistan and Masoup Derderian. Masoup was killed by the Turks when Martin was 1 1/2 years old. Gulistan was left with two boys Martin and his older brother Peter (Bedros). Being a strong and determined woman, my grandmother Gulistan was going to make sure nothing happened to her sons. To help the Armenians against the Turkish attacks, Gulistan became a courier who ran from village to village bringing messages.
When the opportunity became available for Gulistan to send her children to orphanages outside of Turkey, Peter was sent to an orphanage in Greece, and Martin age 7 was sent to Antilyas Orphanage in Beirut, Syria.
My father began his schooling at Antilyas Orphanage where he had his classes outside. When he was old enough, Martin was given the opportunity to select a trade to learn. Since he liked seeing people in nice, fine clothes, he decided to become a tailor. Little did he know that someday he would have his own tailor shop in a far-off land.
Besides engaging the children in academic and trade school learning, the orphanage provided physical education activities and held Field Day events each year. In 1925, Martin participated in his first relay race where he won a blue ribbon for the Small Boys Handicap group. Each year from 1925 to 1927 Martin won ribbons in the Australasian Unit Field Day Relay Races. These seven ribbons were highly cherished and accompanied Martin to the United States when he was 14 years old. Gulistan had married an Armenian man with the intent to reunite with her two sons in Providence, Rhode Island.
Upon coming to Providence, Martin had to attend middle school. For the next two years, his Mother received notes from his teacher stating that Martin's many absences would not be tolerated, for he had to attend school until the age of 16. As soon as my father was able to leave school, Martin got a job at a dry-cleaning shop. Working hard but not satisfied with the situation, Martin at the age of 19 opened OK Cleaners in Providence. Always doing his best and wanting to please his customers, OK Cleaners provided a lifetime of success for Martin, his wife Sylvia Mazmanian, and his three children Michael, Diane, and Linda.
While my father rarely spoke of his early life and the hardship he faced as a result of the Turkish Massacre, his determination to succeed and his love of his heritage instilled love, kindness, generosity, and ethnic pride in his daily life. One of his customers, Warren Walden, a sports broadcaster for a local TV station who always signed off the air with "Carry on" to his viewers, would always leave OK Cleaners saying, "There'll always be an Armenia", for he knew how proud Martin was of his heritage.