Original abstract (1976): Mr. Gregian was orphaned as a young boy and had virtually no recollections of his family's life in Armenia. His childhood in the Near Bast and his early manhood in America were characterized by constant movement. He came to live with a relative in Providence at the age of fifteen and then spent a good part of the next decade or so moving from job to job and back and forth between Providence and New York and Providence and Worcester. He lived in Worcester for ten years and returned to Providence around World War II because he felt his "roots" were here. These facts, as well as his wanderings in the Near East, certainly fit in with the mobility theme. So, too, does Mr. Gregian's description of the dispersal of the Armenian community of Providence in physical terms, counter-balanced by the persistence of a "sense" of community which the Armenian people still have. In this respect he talked about several groups of which he is a member and their role in preserving Armenian traditions and a sense of community in spite of the fact that the old neighborhood has largely been abandoned.
A number of other issues were touched upon but the interview, like Mr. Gregian's life, was rather disorderly.
This interview with Arthur Gregian was conducted on April 21, 1976. The interview discusses his experience escaping the Armenian Genocide, arrival in Providence (R.I.) and his subsequent moves around the northeastern United States (including New York, Worcester (Mass.), Hartford (Conn.)) before returning to Providence (R.I.), the Armenian community, religion, and education. In addition to the audio recording of the interview, there is a typed summary and abstract.