Lavon and Popkins Zakarian, Portland, ca. 1910
Item 102704 info
Maine Historical Society
Brothers Lavon (left) and Popkins (right) Zakarian were part of the Armenian community in Maine, one of the oldest in America.
Popkins Zakarian (1903-1980) was born in Bulgaria and immigrated to Portland with his Armenian parents, Mary and John, and brother, Lavon, around 1904. He worked in an Armenian grocery store, and later operated a linoleum business in Portland for 50 years. Lavon went to the University of Maine and had a distinguished football career.
The first Armenian immigrants arrived in Maine in 1896 to escape growing persecution in Turkey. Hundreds more arrived by the time of the Armenian Genocide in 1915.
Item 1 of 5
