Peters
Continued from Page Fl
easier. When Peters' father and other family
members later immigrated, they too came under
the name Peters.
When Peters was two, his family moved to a
farm two miles east of Fowler. He graduated
from Fowler High School in 1923 and then settled
into a life of farming with his father and brother.
In 1929, a series of events led Peters into an
association with Valley Foundry that proved the
turning point in his life.
Electricity had come to the family farm and
Peters' father wanted to replace an irrigation
pump and gasoline engine with a Valley Foundry
unit that ran on electricity. Peters' father insisted
that his oldest son deal with the salesman and
sales manager who called at the farm.
The sales manager was so impressed by Peters
that he offered him a job to sell irrigation equipment to area farmers. He declined at first and
then decided to take the job for several months
during the winter when there wasn't much to do
on the farm and he wouldn't be missed.
Peters never came back.
After working for 10 years as a salesman, he
purchased Valley Foundry. Despite his quick rise
in the business world, the early years of his ownership were not easy for Peters.
There were times when he could not meet his
payroll. He would issue payroll checks, but tell
his employees not to cash them until he had the
chance to go out and collect money owed by customers.
"We went through a real period of trial and
tribulation and then we finally put things together," Peters said. From a dollars and cents perspective, the turn-around came with a new grape
crusher which Valley Foundry began manufacturing in 1940 and which proved very popular with
the wineries. The firm began to specialize in
winery equipment following the end of Prohibition
in 1933.
A less tangible turning point, but one just as
important to Peters, began ironically with a mistake. Because of early inexperience, he manufactured and sold 13 defective grape crushers. When
he realized the mistake, Peters repaired the
equipment at his own expense.
While he had to borrow money to do it, the
repair work was worth it to Peters. "(From that
point on) people knew they could buy with confidence," he explained.
His friends point out that Peters also made a
go of Valley Foundry because of his special abilities. "Leon was then, and still is a very astute
businessman and great salesman," said Ernest
Gallo at a Fresno County and City Chamber of
Commerce dinner several years ago.
"He has always produced a superior product
and believes intensely in its value. Consequently,
his enthusiasm over the value he offers results in
great salesmanship."
Gallo went on to recall one of his first encounters with Peters. The young salesman had
brought a wine pump to Gallo's winery in Modesto for a demonstration. The pump was priced at
$250, but Gallo was not eager to pay that much for
it.
"Over a three-day period, I first offered him
$150, then $200, then $225 and finally paid him his
asking price of $250," Gallo said.
At Valley Foundry, Peters learned mechanical
engineering on the job and through association
with colleagues. He regrets the fact that he never
attained a university education. "Many times I
wished I had gone and that's one of the reasons
that I appreciate the university (Fresno State
University)," he said. "Even though I had a
measure of success in my efforts, I know I would
have received more out of life with a higher education."
Peters said he tried to compensate for his lack
of university training with hard work. Not a man
to brood over those things in life that he could not
control, Peters said, "When you lack something
you try and make it up with something else. All I
had was hard work."
Peters is equally philosophical about the ethnic
discrimination he faced as an Armenian-American. His first brush with bigotry came at Fowler
High School and it dogged him even after he had
become one of the city's leading businessmen.
He tried to join the Masonic Lodge three times
(the first two attempts were in the late 1920s and
the third in 1930s) but,,he was rejected each time
because of his ethnic background. Peters was
eventually told he might have a better chance of
getting in if he applied in San Francisco.
Reflecting back on the advice, Peters recalled
his thinking at the time: "That's not the way I
want to be a Mason. I live here. This is my home.
Someday this is going to change. You really cannot go on year after year and bar people if they're
qualified just because they were born an Armenian, an Irishman or whatever. So, I didn't go."
Some years later, Peters was invited to join a
local chapter of the Masonic Lodge and after
"some soul searching and persuasion" he agreed
to do so. Peters notes with obvious pride that few
people are invited to join the Masons.
When Peters was president of the chamber of
commerce in the 1950s, he also was rejected for
membership in a local country club. "There were
about 25 or 30 old-time, die-hard members of the
club who would not accept an Armenian," he
said. "No matter how good you were or how much
good you'd done for the community, that had no
bearing."
Such experiences did not leave Peters an embittered man. "In fact," he said, "I think it reinforced my determination (to succeed) ..."
Noting that some Armenian-Americans still
harbor bitter feelings about their early experiences here, Peters said he believes they are wrong to
hold a grudge. "It (the display of prejudice) was
not unanimous or universal among all the citizens
of the community. It was a limited number . . -
. and that doesn't mean the whole community
was wrong."
A sense of community is deeply engrained in
Peters and he believes he has a responsibility to
be involved in civic projects. His community
work has been extensive as is reflected by the
many plaques and certificates of appreciation
that line his office's walls. Peters has been associated with the San Joaquin College of Law Board
of Trustees, Junior Achievement, Fresno Art
Center, American Red Cross, United Crusade,
Boy's Club, YMCA, Fresno City and County
Chamber of Commerce (past president), Rotary
Club (past president), Armenian-American Citizens League (former state president), Valley
Children's Hospital and Fresno State University.
Peters is perhaps best known, though, for his
work at Community Hospital.
When he was asked in 1949 to join the hospital's
board of trustees, Peters said he eagerly accepted. "I could see that I was really reaping the
benefits of others who proceeded me. They had
devoted their energy to this community .
. . (and made) a place for me to come and have
the opportunity to succeed . . .
"It became important to be able to do something for this community and for future generations . . ."
Peters quickly, proved a valuable member of
the board and in the 1950s he agreed to lead a
fundraising campaign that was needed to help
finance Community's first major addition. The
board of trustees was almost ready to abandon
the project when Peters agreed to accept the post.
Under his direction, the campaign not only met its
$1.57 million goal. It raised an extra $70,000.
In 1959, Peters was elected president of the
board of trustees, a post he held until late last
year when he declined to seek re-election. He
continues to serve on the board in the newly created position of president emeritus. "I know that
it (the title) doesn't mean anything, but it's a
gesture that I really appreciate," Peters said.
Peters believes his main contribution to the
hospital has been his determination. "Whenever
there was a challenge or problem, no matter how
difficult, I was able through persistence and perseverance to ask others to accept the same devotion that I was giving and jointly we were able to
do the things that we've done."
Peters is aware that he, perhaps more than
any other trustee, is associated in the public's
mind with Community Hospital and he strives to
make it clear that the hospital's growth has been
made possible by many. "It's been a collective
effort . . . and I think that they (the public) give
me much more credit than I really deserve. They
overlook the fact that without the support we
would never have the organization that we have
today."
The years of community service have not been
without a price for Peters, but he has no complaints. "There is always a time when you run
into a severe .problem ... but you're in there
and you can't turn it (the involvement) off like a
faucet ...
"So if you're conscientious and if you have
respect for your fellow man and if you love your
community, regardless of how difficult the problem is or how much it saps your vitality, consumes your time or takes you away from your
home and recreation, you just don't give up.
"It's only justifiable that you continue to overcome those problems and devote yourself . . -
. and I've done that. As I look back it gives me a
great sense of gratification and sense of accomplishment. You get a warm glow within yourself
that you did something that was really worthwhile.
"I sacrificed, but it was worth it."
