The thriving Armenian community in Belmont and Watertown gains strength from two areas--history, personified by Manoog S. Young, and religion, with pastors like Dajad Davidian.

In an unimposing and inconspicuous cluster of three brown-brick office buildings in Belmont is the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) building.

The NAASR building houses the largest collection of Armenian books in English anywhere in the world, including Harvard. With holdings ranging from the Armenian contribution to the Crusades to ancient Greek and Roman texts, NAASR's library serves countless educational, service, and research needs.

Behind the cozy and well-stocked reading room, there is a long, rectangular conference room with light brown paneling, vintage 1970s-style couches, golden window blinds and a square arrangement of tables. Adorning the walls are paintings and photographs reminding visitors that this organization and this room breathe history.

But no visit to NAASR would be complete without a few moments speaking with its chair.

A visionary, beneficent and scholarly, Manoog S. Young directs the National Board of NAASR, founded in 1955 in Belmont, Massachusetts. As an organization, NAASR is dedicated to the goal of advancing Armenian studies in the United States, and Young is one of its three charter members.

Young emits a serene, reflective demeanor as he recalls his almost four score years in America. Over the years, his knowledge of the history and experiences of many Armenian immigrants has made him the scion of the Armenian-American community in the Northeast.

As a physics and mathematics undergraduate at the University of Massachusetts, Young began his career in teaching.

"I liked teaching, but when I went to graduate school, I starting believing that I should pursue my interests in history and international relations instead of math and physics," Young said.