1991_03 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper March 1991

              Page 4
Hye Sharzhoom
March 1991
m
Hye Profile:
Alice A. Peters
Name: Alice A. Peters.
Occupation: Head of the Leon S.
Peters Foundation.
Born: Fresno, California.
Marital status: Was married to Leon S.
Peters from 1943 until his death in 1983.
Children: None.
First job: Working in a packing house
in Del Rey.
What I value most in life: Freedom.
The people who have had the most
impact on my life are: My mother and
my husband.
Favorite television shows: Jeopardy!
and The Donahue Show.
All time favorite movie: The Sound of
Music.
Favorite food: Pasta.
Favorite vacation spot: Italy.
Best gift I ever received: A diamond
wrist watch from my husband.
Fondest childhood memory: It must
have been when I was around either six
or seven years old. I asked for a doll
and colorbook for Christmas and I got it.
Favorite way to relax: Staying at home
where it's nice and quiet.
I'm most proud of: The foundation
which acts as a mechanism towards
giving to so many different things in the
community.
A Lifetime of Giving
By Jeff Ahronian
Editor
Alice Peters never attended Fresno
State University as a student but her
contributions to the school are
abundant. As head of the Leon S. Peters
Foundation, she has helped contribute
to the Leon S. Peters Business
Building, the University Business Center, and also to Bulldog Stadium.
Alice Peters was raised in Del
Rey, California, approximately 15
miles away from downtown Fresno.
Her parents, John and Satenig
Apregian, moved from Bitlis, Armenia
to Lynn, Massachusetts with nothing
in their pockets, hoping to find wealth
in the land of opportunity. Two years
later, they decided to make the trek out
west, after hearing much about a place
called Fresno from friends and
relatives.
Mrs. Peters' father died while she
was still a teenager, leaving her
mother to care for five children, but
she feels that that situation might
have brought the family closer
together. "Mother was a very dynamic
person," she recalled. "She taught us
how to work together as a family."
She says that her family eventually
became successfull by
scrimping and saving.
Mrs. Peters didn't actually grow
up in Fresno since she spent most of
her time in the rural community of Del
Rey. She graduated from Selma High
School and then went on to attend Four
C's Business College. When asked
about how the Armenians were treated
while whe was growing up, Mrs. Peters
stated that she wasn't aware of any
prejudice against the Armenians at that
time. "The Armenians weren't
assertive or aggressive," she
remarked. "However, they stuck together as a group, much like they still
do today."
While working at Del Rey
Packing in the 1930's, she met her
future husband, Leon S. Peters.
"Nothing really happened for about
ten years," she said. "I always thought
Leon was a lot older than me." Their
relationship started off as a simple
friendship - she remembers running
into him every now and then in
downtown Fresno. The two apparently
grew on each other and finally decided
to get married in 1943 - their marriage
was to last for 41 years.
"We were very poor when we first
got married," Mrs. Peters recounts.
"At first we couldn't even find a place
to stay."
Alice Peters has travelled all over
Campus Hye
Profiles
Questions conducted by M. l^>n Peters,
Pam Manoogian, and Jeff An ronton
"What is your favorite Armenian food - prepared by whom - and why is it your
favorite?"
Garojtebagchourian
Age 20 Major: Engineering
"My mom's paklwa because it's sweet"
Gina Mobfdlgian
Age: 19  Major: Psychology
"My grandma makes the best yalancie m the world. There's nothing like Nan's
yalanchte."    .
B
Age: 22 Majon Human Resource Management
"Cheese boreg is my favorite Armenian food because I love cheese! I hope 1
cansomeday leam how to make it as good as my mom."
Age: 18 Major; Economics
"My all-time favorite Armenian food m the whole wide world is yalanchie -
but only my mom's yalanchie because it's without a doubt the best IVe ever tasted."
Roger SHirin
Age: 19 Major: Marketing
"My grandma's ^'to/because she puts a whole bunch of butter in it."
Nicolas (Missakian) Pkchi
Age: 20  Major: Business
"Shisk kebab, prepared by my grandmother, is my favorite Armenian food
because it's her old family secret recipe and only she can make it that way."
Age: 20   Major: Ag-Bustness
'Pilaf by my mother.; I don't know why 1 like it so much> it must be her old
family secret."
Why is it my favorite? It tastes good!"
Sophie Doarian-Warren
Age: 27 Major: Graduate student
'1 guess it would be sarma. My aunt Joanne makes it. I mainly like the
texture of it."
Danielle Kamian
Age: 22 Major: Liberal Studies
"I love sou boreg prepared by the Armenian church in Oakland. I like it
because it just tastes good."
the world. She toured Europe in the
1950's, went to South Africa on a safari
hunt, travelled to the Middle East,
visited Australia - however, she has
never been to Armenia. "I don't want to
travel anymore," she says, "I'd just like
to stay in Fresno."
Leon S. Peters established the
Foundation in 1959 and since then, it
has been steadily built up.
In recent years, the Leon S. Peters
Foundation has given to almost every
possible cause: the Fresno State Armenian Studies Program, the Povarello
House, the Fresno Metropolitian
Museum, the Fresno Art Museum, Easter
Seals, the Cancer Society, the Boy
Scouts, the Girl Scouts, most of the
major Fresno hospitals, most of the
Armenian churches in Fresno, the
Armenian Old Age home, the Fresno
Zoo (and the list goes on...).
There's a certain ghrnmer in
Alice Peters' eyes when she talks
about giving. She says she doesn't
care for material things anymore.
"That's not my style," she says. "I
don't like to show off." From talking
to her, it's clear to see that she does
in fact enjoy helping others. As she
puts it, "There's a pleasure in
giving."
by Professor Garen Yuzbashian of Armenia
Deputy of the Parliament of the Republic of Armenia
speaking on "The Political Situation of Armenia Today "
Thursday, March 211991
12:00 noon University Student Union Rm. 311   7:30 pm St. Paul Armenian Church, Berberian Hall
Sponsored by the CSU Fresno Armenian Studies Program and Armenian Students Organization