by Lisa Boghosian Papas
"If I could live anywhere in the world, I'd still pick Fresno," says Alice Peters. The dynamic society altruist and consummate "Fresno-lite"- straight-forward in personality, modest in demeanor, and classic in appearance- sits graciously in her "Fig Garden" home in Fresno. "My husband Leon and I lived here all our lives, traveling the world together, attending lots of fancy parties," she admits. "But we were always happiest in this community. I have no complaints about Fresno. I never get bored- I paint and read. And September is a very busy social month here."
But social activities for Mrs. Peters are not just limited to one month out of the year, or a fundraising lunch at Fresno's downtown Hilton. For lack of better words, she "wets" her hands year-round for a multitude of charities, and gives abundantly throughout the community to have become one of Fresno's most generous and well-respected women.
She helped start the Fresno Metropolitan Museum of Art, and she also raises money for the Fresno Zoo and for the Boy and Girl Scouts of America. Buildings and rooms around Fresno all bear the Peters name, including the new multi-million dollar business school at the California State University of Fresno (CSUF). Proud of her good deeds, Mrs. Peters, however, is too shy to take credit for helping build this Central California town from its sleepy agricultural beginning to the fast growing cosmopolitan city it is today. Instead, she defers to her late husband, Leon Peters, for his foresight.
"My husband started with nothing. He didn't have an education beyond high school, and neither did I," says Mrs. Peters. "But after working very hard, with never as much as a day off from work, he was able to start his own foundation in 1959." Today, the Leon S. Peters Foundation, with chair of the board Mrs. Peters, supports education, university scholarships and humanitarian aid.
"We support causes mainly in Fresno," says Mrs. Peters. "And we don't give out of the state except for Armenian causes. We gave a very generous donation to the Armenian embassy this year- they needed some specifics."
And since 1991, the Leon S. Peters Foundation has given $30,000 to the AGBU to support programs such as scholarships for students studying at the American University of Armenia, and funding for children at the Nork Children's Center. "Leon and I didn't have any children of our own," she says, "so this is our way of leaving a legacy."
But why would a couple with the last name of Peters be interested in giving to Armenian causes? The story goes like this: Leon Peters' father's brother, Hovagim Bedrosian (once Hovagim Shahenian, but nobody knows why their named changed) was the first of his three brothers to arrive in America from their homeland of Bitlis, located approximately 200 miles southwest of Mount Ararat.
Prior to the massacres, young Hovagim sensed danger and fled to the American Bible House (ABH) in Constantinople, the headquarters of the American Protestant missionaries. There, he was advised by the missionaries to emigrate to the United States. One of the missionaries present was from San Francisco, and told Hovagim that California was developing rapidly. He said there was a very promising agricultural area called Fresno, where many Armenian families had already settled.
As they began to prepare Hovagim's paperwork, and all the necessary documents for his move, one of the missionaries suggested that his name would be too difficult for American people to pronounce. They translated his name- Hovagim- the biblical name, to "John." Then they translated Bedrosian- meaning the "son of Bedros"- to Peters. John Peters arrived in the United States in 1895. Following him a year later to Fresno, the remainder of the family moved, also changing their names from Bedrosian to Peters.
The Peters have always held steadfast to their Armenian roots, and specifically to their Bitlis friends in Fresno. "I think Armenian young adults should marry other Armenians," emphatically states Mrs. Peters. "So many of the Armenian kids today are marrying outside, and I think it is a shame. When we were growing up, it wasn't only important for us to marry another Armenian, but also one from the same town in Armenia. My family, the Apregians, came to Lynn, Massachusetts from Bitlis in 1907. Then four years later, we moved to Fresno because we heard that other 'Bitlistsies' were here.
"Most of the 'Bitlistsies' had moved to a little town just outside of Fresno called Del Rey- it was a farming community. I met Leon, another 'Bitlistsi,'" but this isn't interesting says Mrs. Peters. Agreeing to continue..."I met Leon in 1943. At that time, Leon was helping his father with farm work during the day, and trying to sell pumps for water and such at night. I happened to be working for the Chooljian twins the first time I saw him. Then I switched jobs and began working in town near Leon's business. We'd meet for lunch at the restaurant down the street." And the rest is history.
From the days of not getting any commission on the sale of a pump, young Leon eventually owned the pump company, turning it into one of the nation's premier wine-making machinery plants. "Leon couldn't do anything in the shop- but he could tell others how to do it," says Mrs. Peters, "that was his strength. Eventually, he grew the business from one to 300 employees, then sold it."
Having dined with the Gallos and renowned Napa wine families, as well as other distinguished businessmen and scholars around the world, the Peters never forgot, and continued to give back to their Fresno and Armenian communities.
"It's rare to find an Armenian who's active in the American Fresno society," shares Mrs. Peters. "Even when we were growing up, 'Hyes' only associated with other 'Hyes'. Armenians didn't mingle in the outside community then because we were new, and there was discrimination against us in Fresno. Sure you'll see them today at the 'Bulldog' football games at CSUF, and an occasional fund-raiser for an Armenian politician. But you just don't find many Armenians attending other community fund-raisers, or sitting on the boards of many public or non-profit organizations. I just don't understand it."
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Alex Manoogian: In Memoriam
