Yeznig Film Productions Roger's biography and films Film reviews Watertown Historical Commission's 2009 Community Spirit Award Filmmaker documents the impact of Hood Rubber on Watertown’s Armenian history By Jen Thomas , staff writer Watertown TAB Jan 07, 2010 Inspired by stories of his grandmother’s days as a worker at the Hood Rubber Company in Watertown, Lexington filmmaker Roger Hagopian set out to tell the tale of the factory and the people who worked there. It took six years, but Hagopian, 60, has turned those stories into a one-hour documentary part business history and part personal chronicle. “It’s a simultaneous history of the Armenian community in Watertown and the Hood Rubber Company,” Hagopian said. “It takes people through the generations, from the 1890s to the 1920s, from the old country to this country.” “Destination Watertown: The Armenians of Hood Rubber” documents the journey of the Hood Rubber Company, started by brothers Arthur and Frederic Hood in 1896, from a bustling shoe and boot factory to a community staple and ends with the factory’s closing in 1969. The factory was partially responsible for attracting a large number of Armenians looking to escape genocide and persecution in their home country. By the end of the 1920s, approximately 3,500 Armenians, or 10 percent of the population, were living in Watertown, and more than 500 were working at Hood Rubber. The Hood Rubber Company was sold to B.F. Goodrich before the Great Depression and eventually shuttered its doors as business fizzled. Today, the only remains of the former factory is one long foundation located behind the Watertown Mall. “It’s sad that there’s nothing left there,” said Hagopian. “It’s a part of the history of the town, and nothing was preserved.” Hagopian interviewed more than a dozen former Hood Rubber factory workers, punctuating their recollection of the glory days of Hood Rubber with historical photographs, advertisements and maps of the 80-building complex in East Watertown. It’s these stories that really make the film, Hagopian said. “I can’t imagine the project without the people,” the filmmaker said. From cheerful childhood memories — residents recalled waiting in line every Wednesday to get a free pair of sneakers to test for the company — to sad tales of injured workers and deplorable working conditions, Hapogian’s movie lays out a detailed history. At its debut screening in December, about 100 people came out to the Free Public Library to view the film, and most were not Armenians, Hagopian said. Though he sold all 40 copies of the movie he’s already printed, he’s continuing to tweak the final product and hopes to screen his movie again in town, possibly at the Armenian Library and Museum of America on Main Street. Hagopian, a rug and upholstery cleaner and arts and crafts vendor by day and freelance videographer by night, financed most of the film himself, but he didn’t make “Destination Watertown” to turn a profit. “This is part of my father’s story, part of my story,” Hagopian said. “Hood Rubber is the reason for the establishment of the Armenian community in Watertown. That’s the story I wanted to tell.” Get a copy Roger Hagopian is selling copies of his “Destination Watertown: The Armenians of Hood Rubber” and is always looking for more information about the history of the Hood Rubber Company and its employees. For more information, contact Hagopian at 781-861-7868 or rogerhagop@aol.com.