gifts

“A President and a Rug: Hidden History” by Kate E. Bradley

Here is a fascinating portion of the back story behind Dr. Deranian’s research that has become the recently published book, “President Calvin Coolidge and the Armenian Orphan Rug.” The suffering and loss endured by over one hundred and thirty-five thousand orphans and more than one million others through Turkish genocide brought the best out of Americans, who contributed millions of dollars, supplies and, for some, even their own lives to rescue as many of the Armenian people as possible. It is a long overlooked detail of President Coolidge’s foreign policy that he encouraged the relief effort, even meeting two of the orphans in 1926 who would eventually call America their home. An enormous rug gifted to President Coolidge in gratitude for America’s actions through the rescue effort headed by Near East Relief, speaks not only to the good will between two peoples but to the timeless reminder that America responds with open hearts and ready service, without a single government mandate, to help defend life and freedom for the most unfortunate anywhere in the world.

Now that the Smithsonian has been inexplicably denied permission by the White House to display the rug, it is shamefully not too far-fetched to conclude that this particular Administration has little concern for the gift’s meaning and even a deliberate interest in suppressing a celebration of the force for good Americans have been not only to Armenians but multitudes of others throughout our history.

A few of the more than 4.5 million knots lovingly forming this 11′ 7″ x 18′ 5″ rug. 400 orphan girls spent 10 months preparing this gift to America.

“The beautiful rug woven by the [Armenian] children in the [Ghazir] orphanage in the Lebanon has been received. This, their expression of gratitude for what we have been able to do in this country for their aid, is accepted by me as a token of their goodwill to the people of the United States. . . The rug has a place of honor in the White House, where it will be a daily symbol of good-will on earth” — President Coolidge, December 4, 1925.

A new book, President Calvin Coolidge and the Armenian Orphan Rug by Dr. Hagop Martin Deranian, delves into the regrettably little known events in Armenia that resulted in an unprecedented rescue and relief effort led by Americans of one million refugees, including 100,000 orphans, displaced by genocide. The rug, presented to President Coolidge in 1925, hung prominently in the prestigious Blue Room of the White House until 1928, respectfully preserved by Grace in their Northampton home and returned to Washington in 1983. The author recalls, “It was an emotional feeling to touch this very rug. These girls with their nimble fingers wove their gratitude to America into every stitch.”

The Armenian Cultural Foundation will host a reception open to the public giving Dr. Deranian an opportunity to present his work on October 20, 2013, in Arlington, Massachusetts at 3PM. It is well worth attending!