By Monica Deady/ Staff Writer
Friday, October 8, 2004
Donning plastic aprons and plastic gloves, with hands whirring and chattering typical to what one might expect of a large group of ladies gathered together, the woman tear apart shredded dough, add butter, put a layer of cream on top of it and then a final layer of dough on top of the cream.
Their quick but careful preparation of the Armenian pastry cream khadayif in the basement of St. James Armenian Church one night last week was only a small sliver of the preparation that goes on for their annual church bazaar.
With a large congregation, and a large population in Watertown, the church is a place where some families, such as Lesley Cristello’s, have found a niche, following behind the ancestors who came before them.
Cristello, 47, whose children at times work with her in the church kitchen, is following in the footsteps of her mother, a well-known baker in the church, and her grandmother as well.
“Since I was a little girl, my grandmother was always active in the church,” Cristello said. “So my grandmother dragged my mother up there and my mother dragged me up there, but I love it.”
Her mother, Mary Madanian, passed away about five years ago, but is still remembered at the church through the purchase of a baking tool.
In lieu of flowers, family and friends donated money that was used to purchase a choreg cutter “because years ago she used to complain that one piece of dough [of the Armenian sweet roll] was big and one was small.”
Cristello said she hopes this will help her mother’s memory remain.
As a child, Cristello said she remembers being at the church baking and how active her parents were.
“I can remember being up there and cooking and the ladies, and even more so being amazed today that they could do that without all the modern technology,” she said.
Today, Cristello said they serve about 3,000 meals in a two-day period at the bazaar.
In addition to Cristello, her daughter, Julie, and son Brian are active in the church. Julie sometimes works in the kitchen with her mom, but also works in the office doing community service for school. She says Brian will probably work in the kitchen and remain active as well.
Julie, 13, said she likes working at the church, and remembers coming as a younger girl with both her mom and grandma.
Cristello’s grandfather and his brother, Missak and Sarkis Parsekian, came to America from Armenia and opened Watertown Cement Block Company, which donated the cement blocks for the construction of the church close to 75 years ago.
And Cristello’s sister, Stefanie Madanian, is now the co-chairwoman of the bazaar committee at the church, and their brother, Jack, is a member of the parish council.
“It’s just been part of our whole life,” Cristello said. “We really didn’t know anything else. It was the church.”
The annual bazaar will be held Oct. 15 and 16 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at St. James Armenian Apostolic Church, at 465 Mount Auburn St. There is no fee to enter.
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