Shehadey, Larry, 1999 Leon S. Peters Distinguished Service Award recipient
Item
Title
Shehadey, Larry, 1999 Leon S. Peters Distinguished Service Award recipient
Description
Talks about growing up in Toulumne County near the Merced River, moving to Fresno at 12 years old and attending Polytechnic High School. He discusses becoming a soap salesman before purchasing a portion of Producers Dairy and working in the business 50 years. He talks about his children and grandchildren and working with Leon S. Peters and deciding to give back to the community. He talks about his support of Fresno Community College, and his hopes for the future of Fresno.
Creator
Shehadey, Larry
Mehas, Dr. Peter G.
Relation
Leon S. Peters Legacy Collection
Coverage
Fresno, California
Date
2000
Format
Microsoft word 2003 document, 7 pages
Identifier
SCMS_lspl_00027
extracted text
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Name, place of birth and date of birth.
>>Larry Shehadey: My name is Larry Shehadey.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yeah.
>>Larry Shehadey: I was born in Tuolumne County, California. I was raised near the
Merced River just above the Merced Falls. I went to school 5 and a half miles from
where we lived to a little one teacher school that had 8 grades. I had to ride a
little horse way to it. And many times it - during the rainy season - my boots were
full of water when I got home. And there was times that I had to leave the horse on
the other side of the creek when there was a big storm and walk along the railroad
bridge to get home. And that was when I started out at 6 years old. And so I've been
struggling ever since.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: So you're a native Californian?
>>Larry Shehadey: Yes, a native Californian. I can remember where we were -- many
people used to go to Yosemite Valley and through Merced Falls. And they had little
2-engine carriages that probably are not in existence anymore. And they used to stop
at our place to get gas and oil and then go on up through Coulterville into the
mining country. And a lot of them came back broke because the mines that were sold
to them in San Francisco didn't have any gold up there. So I had a good education
watching people go broke while I was a young boy.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: How did you get involved in the dairy business and when did
you come to Fresno?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well, as we would -- I moved to San Francisco when I was about 12
I guess, or 11, somewhere in there. And that's where I was raised and went to
school: Polytechnic High School near the Kezar Stadium. And I used to have to take a
streetcar from my way and take about an hour to get to school. But I got into the
soap business accidentally by a friend of mine that helped my folks that was in the
-- was a stockholder in this company. And so it was right after the Depression and
so there weren't very many jobs around. And so I got this job giving out some
coupons and samples and gave them out in Los Angeles. And eventually I got a sales
territory from part of San Francisco, up Eureka and down to King City. So I was
fortunate enough to become a salesman and eventually they put us all on a
commission. And as a result, I made enough money to - when we sold the company - to
be able to buy a percentage of the Producers Dairy who happened to -- a fellow who
owned 50 percent of it, worked for the railroad, and never worked at the dairy so it
looked like a good deal for me. I could just get a piece of this action and it
wasn't regulated in those days. They told you what you paid for milk. Told you what
you sold it to the store for.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: So you went from the soap business to the dairy business?
>>Larry Shehadey: Yeah.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Interesting.
>>Larry Shehadey: And I got -- I bought a piece of the Producers Dairy I was waiting
for a Chevrolet agency at Walnut Creek because I worked for Chevrolet - Robert A.
Smith in San Francisco - when I was going to school. And I had an in with a fellow
that gave the distributors out -- distribution out. And so I was waiting for the
Chevrolet agency when someone asked me, "Would you introduce Reddi-Whip that just
came on the market" because I knew all the stores and their wholesalers had changed
stores and everything in 11 western states. And so I was introducing Reddi-Whip down
here when I got suckered into buying a piece of Producers Dairy...
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter]
>>Larry Shehadey: ...which I didn't know anything about: the cows being fresh in the
spring and dry in the fall.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter]
>>Larry Shehadey: That's about as stupid as I could ever get. But I knew one thing.
If I didn't work at it, I was going to lose everything so I kept working and when I
came here, there were 45 dairies between Bakersfield and Manteca including Borden's
and Knudsen and now they're all broke and gone. And there are only 2 people -there's only 2 dairies left in the valley and I'm one of them.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Fifty years, huh?
>>Larry Shehadey: Yep, 50 years. And it's gone by real fast when you come to think
of it. My boy Richard works in there and John did for awhile. But he runs the
convenience stores. So he's a -- it's been a real experience. I finally got into
farming because they told me if I didn't have milk, I'd be in trouble so they
thought it was a good idea. So I bought 113, 114 cows from a fellow that was up in
this area but he was from the Central Valley. And so he said, "Will you run the
dairy for me?" And I didn't know anything about cows so I said yeah. And about 6
months or 8 months later, the fellows that he had working for him were stealing
calves and selling cows and so he asked me to buy it. I said I didn't have any
money. He said "Well just pay me whenever you can." I said, "My wife's about ready
to leave me if I keep coming up here losing cows." So anyway, that's how I got in
the dairy business.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: So that was about 1949 when you came to Fresno and started
your dairy business.
>>Larry Shehadey: Yeah, and I didn't know anything about -- my competitors taught me
more than anybody.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: What was Fresno like when you came here in 1949?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well, I used to come down here as the soap business because we had
a salesman here and I had to come down and work with him. But it seemed like just a
little country town and well Los Angeles was growing fast and Pasadena and all those
places and the valley seemed to be very stagnant. And so it looked like -- maybe it
was the heat, maybe it was the farms, maybe it was just people but I never dreamed
about going in business here because it always seemed like they were slow at picking
things up. But it turned out I think they were too many farming type people here
instead of manufacturing type people like you have in San Francisco and Los Angeles
and so on. So it looked like it was going to be a long time and it was a long time
before people realized that they needed some more businesses and manufacturing in
the towns to keep the people in the town working and not just working 6 months out
of the year on the farms then coming back. It was kind of an odd situation because
being in California, San Francisco and Los Angeles and places, it was never like
that. This seemed to be a 90 percent production of farms and 10 or 20 percent
manufacturing. But it's come around now and I think the people that are trying to
run the cities are becoming more cognizant of it in the county. And I think that
Pete Mehas has done a terrific job educating the people because he participates in
so many community activities and that's how you get to learn what's going on.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well thank you.
>>Larry Shehadey: Fortunate for him was that I knew his mom and dad before I ever
came to Fresno. And I used to get some of the best food in the town when I came
here.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well with that, let's just -- I want to give Mr. Shehadey a
drink of water real quick like and then we'll just start up again.
>>Larry Shehadey:
in athletics, all
them. That's with
were with her all
Eight grandchildren, 4 in each family, all A and B students, all
play instruments, all go to church. Great kids. I mean all of
my wife though not me. She -- those kids when they grew up, they
the time.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter] Okay, we'll click her on again? Larry, you probably
knew Lee Peters as he was affectionately called more than a lot of folks. You were
very, very close to he and Alice. When did you meet Lee?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well Lee, when I came to Fresno, they had their little plant on -what's that -- south of Fulton?
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Right.
>>Larry Shehadey: What's the name of that next street?
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Broadway.
>>Larry Shehadey: Broadway.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Right.
>>Larry Shehadey: They had a little place on Broadway and so they moved out to the
big plant. While they were on Broadway, we used Mr. Peters’ company to do a lot of
our work for some of our equipment. So by being a customer, we got to know each
other pretty well. And especially with him serving and working with a lot of the
dairies in the valley which there were quite a few, he realized the problems that
you have in the dairy business if you want to put out a good product, you have to
have your equipment clean, you have to have your equipment running properly and you
have to have good, qualified employees. So he knew that when I talked to him that
I'd been in the soap business before, that we did that and I wanted the same thing
at Producers. So he helped me quite a bit. And he's a nice, quiet sort of person.
When you ask him a question, he'd think for a second. They he'd give you a good,
solid answer. It helped me tremendously.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well the Leon S. Peters Award of course sponsored by the
Fresno Chamber of Commerce personifies everything that Leon S. Peters stood for: not
only a successful businessman, but giving so much to his community. And so the
recipients - you being one of the recipients - you're like the pillar of our
community. You have earned the respect of all and clearly you have been a successful
businessman. Everybody knows Producers Dairy has been successful. You've been a
successful father with your lovely family. What caused Larry Shehadey to get
involved with other things other than the business? Giving so much to the community.
What was in your background that said, "There's got to be more than just being a
successful businessman," because you gave so much?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well I guess I was raised that way. My folks in San Francisco
helped people out during the Depression. There were so many people that didn't even
have a job and I remember my folks -- we had a little grocery store and she gave
some of the families milk and bread for nothing just to help them. And I was just a
young person. And so I saw my family do that. I saw that we were fortunate and God
was good to us and I thought that this was a good way to thank the Lord for me
having the success I had and guided me on making right decisions. And I feel that I
think if everyone would be a little more conscious of other people, not beggars but
people that need it, we'd have a better world today.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: What did it mean to you to get that award, probably the most
prestigious award for you to be named the Leon S. Peters? I mean you've have
success, but to get that award, what did it mean to you as a person?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well it's kind of ironical because I didn't expect it. Although I
had previous award and they had -- my daughter-in-law dug up all the things that
I've been doing since I've been in Fresno and there was about 50 things I'd never
even dreamed that I was getting all these awards. She found awards and my back room
in the office and now we have them all over the walls in the new building. And I
never realized that. And so I guess by doing the things I did which is what the
community really needed, and I wasn't the only one. There were a lot of people that
participated but not as strenuous as I did I guess. And I've contributed to
hospitals and different schools and things that I felt was good for the community
and I guess that's probably where it came back.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well you look at every yearbook for the last 50 years and
Larry Shehadey and Producers Dairy are always in them supporting education. Of
course Fresno City College, you're like the godfather to Fresno City College as Bob
Duncan is to Fresno State. You've been the godfather of Fresno City College. Let me
ask you this. Tom Brokaw recently wrote a book called The Greatest Generation. And
he speaks of your generation that went through the Depression, they fought the
Second World War, they put the man on the moon. What was it about your generation
that made them so giving, so visionary, so daring, so risk-taking? What do you think
made that generation because today's generation is different?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well I really believe that the generation that I grew up in was a
little that way but there was nothing that made them come out in the open until
World War II. And when everyone was drafted to the point where there was hardly any
dad left that had children was aged to keep them out of the service, it left this -a void here. And when you grew up and saw some of your friends' fathers drafted into
the service and some came back and some didn't, it made you very cognizant. I happen
to be very fortunate because we were manufacturing soap, and that meant manufactured
glycerin. And so being in glycerins, I was vice president and one of the 3 directors
and sales manager, so it was important that our business stayed in business so that
the government could get the glycerin with us making soap.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Sure.
>>Larry Shehadey: So I just happened to be lucky being in the right place at the
right time I guess. Because there was a couple of times I was pretty well drafted
and when they found I was in a necessary industry just like being a soldier…
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Sure, sure.
>>Larry Shehadey: …they let me go. And not
and they were afraid if he died, why there
And I was the only logical one so it was a
to me in a sense. I'm going to say that to
only that but my boss was fairly elderly
wouldn't be anyone to run the business.
break for me. So God has been pretty good
you.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Where do you see Fresno going? You've watched Fresno from its
infancy through its childhood in the late ‘40s and now we're getting ready to the
change of the millennium. What do you see Fresno from your vantage point, where do
you see Fresno heading?
>>Larry Shehadey: It's kind of ironical because I think everyone wonders where
Fresno's going. When I first came here, Fresno seemed to be the dead city compared
to Los Angeles and San Francisco, Sacramento, San Jose, Santa Clara and places like
that were all going and Fresno just seemed to be plodding along when I came here.
And it seemed like I think the council and supervisors we had were typical of say
Calwa supervisors, instead of Fresno supervisors and so they couldn't see anything
farther than their nose on their face. And so they fought for the idiosyncrasies
that held Fresno back. Actually being in San Francisco and my folks were fairly
political and we had a lot of people in San Francisco that we knew so I had a chance
to see first hand how politics operated. And so I could see here that it was a dead
beat and every time they elected any councilmen or supervisors, they should have
been riding on a stagecoach out of town...
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter]
>>Larry Shehadey: ...out of town instead of coming into town. No this is the truth..
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yeah.
>>Larry Shehadey: ...I mean and now I think the fellows that we have are a little
more progressive and they're still trying to make this town a large town with some
little ideas yet. But they're so much better than the ones in the past. And I have
to say that I've helped support some of those that got in past that were failures.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter] But you have a pretty good batting average overall.
>>Larry Shehadey: Yeah.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: What advice would you give to young people today who are
starting off in business? They want -- some of them want to be president of the firm
after their first year but any advice as an extremely successful businessman? What
advice would you give to someone who wants to go -- to start their own business?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well, when you read about 90 percent of the people that go into
business and by the 10th year have failed. And most of them are educated and they're
smart and intelligent but they don't have the desire to put the extra effort to make
the business successful. And you're not dealing with equipment: you're dealing with
people. And when you're in Europe and Italy and you're all Italians, well you know
who they are. Over in France, you know who they are. But here you've got a little
bit of everybody. You have to be French, and everybody's Italian or Irish.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter] Right.
>>Larry Shehadey: But you're trying to educate people based on your philosophy and
they can't understand it. But then comes along this new later age in the last 10
years: the young people of today have had mothers working and the fathers working.
And the kids have no idea of a family discussion whether they're having hard times
or anything so when they graduate they think, "Gee my mothers make a lot of money.
My fathers make a lot of money. We've got cars. And so I guess I could do the same
thing because they're not very smart. Because I have some friends that their parents
are smarter than my parents and they weren't very smart. So if they can do that,
maybe I can do it." Well I don't think anyone can do anything other than the ability
they have and the desire. If you have no desire, you're going to be a failure
anyway. And I was trained to do something. My family is that way. My eight boys are
that way. Our grandchildren are also. And that is I don't like lying or stealing.
It's one of the first things my parents taught me. And the only reason why I'm here
right now, I don't like anyone working for me that lies or steals. They can be bad,
they can be hard and they can everything. If they start lying to me, they're on
their way out. And so as a result, we have people that don't lie or steal that I
know of and as a result, they all work together.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: And they certainly do.
>>Larry Shehadey: And it works out. I had that on the farm. I've had that on the -with the fellows that can hardly speak English [inaudible] Producers Dairy. And I've
had it with the convenience stores. It's all been the same philosophy. So lying and
stealing has been my bible. And I don't lie and I don't steal because I don't need
to steal because I can make what I want to make. I don't need to lie because I can
tell the truth and get a lot more and have a lot more respect. And I don't think
that if I was -- didn't have that philosophy, I don't think I would have got the
Peters Award.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: I think you're absolutely correct. Last question: Knute
Rockne, the famous Notre Dame football coach once said, "When the great scorekeeper
records the score, it matters not who wins or loses but how the game is played."
When they record the life of Larry Shehadey, Leon S. Peters recipient, what do you
want them to remember about you as a person?
>>Larry Shehadey: You know, I never really thought about that with all the awards I
got. The whole wall in the office of the new building is full of them. I didn't even
know Richard had pulled them out of the back room and I'd forgot they were there.
But really, there's hardly in today's life one thing that you could bank on. There's
so many good things, but the 2 things that leads me to do the right thing is that I
don't want anyone lying or stealing and I don't want to lie. If I have to lie, I say
I don't know anything and I don't want to be involved in. And I do that with people.
I've scarred people for lying because if they lie, they steal. And my philosophy is
not because I had a -- I had a Scotch boss that came out here and just being Scotch
was bad enough.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter]
>>Larry Shehadey: But he was a Christian scientist. You did nothing wrong the second
time. Or you're walking the street and so I was a kid and working for him I had to
change completely. It's like being white and turning black or something else. And so
it was a godsend that I got to work for him.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well I certainly thank Mr. Shehadey. Your family, your boys,
your grandchildren, the Shehadey name is well respected. It stands for integrity and
it is something that you certainly can be proud of. Lastly, I just have to ask you
this. Growing up in Fresno today, I can still remember Producers Dairies and Hoppy
Hopalong Cassidy and Daryle Lamonica. You clearly were able to market that very,
very well.
>>Larry Shehadey: I picked the right ones. When I got Hopalong Cassidy it happened
to me because I happened to be -- well I was still in the Bay area, met the fellow
that managed Hopalong Cassidy's business activities. And so I got to be friends of
his, not knowing I was going to get in the dairy business or anything like that. And
so he got me acquainted with Hoppy personally. And we became really good friends. We
had him up here for parades and I remember one parade their 50th year or something
and they couldn't get anyone. And they were having a tough time with the city and
finally. They came to me, "Can you get Hopalong Cassidy here?" I said, "I'll try."
And when I found out that he could come, all of a sudden the newspapers, the radios,
people are coming in from as far away as almost from Bakersfield came into the
parade. And when he came through the parade, people started to leave after he came
by. It's really unbelievable how things worked those days.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: It really wasn't. And lastly, I remember a person who I
admired and respected, George Christopher: another dairyman, Mayor of San Francisco.
He certainly thinks the world of you and every time I see him in San Francisco, he's
along in years, he says, "You say hi to Mr. Shehadey" because he certainly respects
you.
>>Larry Shehadey: Well it was kind of ironical because I met him while I was still
in the soap business. And he's been a successful person and I was still just another
employee somewhere. And so I admired his activities. I admired his, what his desires
were for the benefit of San Francisco and he fought for those rights. And when he
was mayor, why it made me proud to know that I knew him. It made him real happy. I
hope you tell him hello from me too when you see him.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well also on behalf of the Fresno Chamber of
to congratulate you for being a Leon S. Peters recipient and for a
achievement and what you've contributed to the city of Fresno, but
legacy lives on in your children and your grandchildren. And so we
and it's been an honor to have you on this video.
Commerce, we want
lifetime of
certainly your
congratulate you
>>Larry Shehadey: Well I'm certainly glad and I appreciate that. And coming from you
because I've known you and your family for so long, that I'm sure that if I was
doing something wrong those years, you'd have known about it.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: I would. Congratulations.
>>Larry Shehadey: Thank you very much.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Thank you.
==== Transcribed by Automatic Sync Technologies ====
>>Larry Shehadey: My name is Larry Shehadey.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yeah.
>>Larry Shehadey: I was born in Tuolumne County, California. I was raised near the
Merced River just above the Merced Falls. I went to school 5 and a half miles from
where we lived to a little one teacher school that had 8 grades. I had to ride a
little horse way to it. And many times it - during the rainy season - my boots were
full of water when I got home. And there was times that I had to leave the horse on
the other side of the creek when there was a big storm and walk along the railroad
bridge to get home. And that was when I started out at 6 years old. And so I've been
struggling ever since.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: So you're a native Californian?
>>Larry Shehadey: Yes, a native Californian. I can remember where we were -- many
people used to go to Yosemite Valley and through Merced Falls. And they had little
2-engine carriages that probably are not in existence anymore. And they used to stop
at our place to get gas and oil and then go on up through Coulterville into the
mining country. And a lot of them came back broke because the mines that were sold
to them in San Francisco didn't have any gold up there. So I had a good education
watching people go broke while I was a young boy.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: How did you get involved in the dairy business and when did
you come to Fresno?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well, as we would -- I moved to San Francisco when I was about 12
I guess, or 11, somewhere in there. And that's where I was raised and went to
school: Polytechnic High School near the Kezar Stadium. And I used to have to take a
streetcar from my way and take about an hour to get to school. But I got into the
soap business accidentally by a friend of mine that helped my folks that was in the
-- was a stockholder in this company. And so it was right after the Depression and
so there weren't very many jobs around. And so I got this job giving out some
coupons and samples and gave them out in Los Angeles. And eventually I got a sales
territory from part of San Francisco, up Eureka and down to King City. So I was
fortunate enough to become a salesman and eventually they put us all on a
commission. And as a result, I made enough money to - when we sold the company - to
be able to buy a percentage of the Producers Dairy who happened to -- a fellow who
owned 50 percent of it, worked for the railroad, and never worked at the dairy so it
looked like a good deal for me. I could just get a piece of this action and it
wasn't regulated in those days. They told you what you paid for milk. Told you what
you sold it to the store for.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: So you went from the soap business to the dairy business?
>>Larry Shehadey: Yeah.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Interesting.
>>Larry Shehadey: And I got -- I bought a piece of the Producers Dairy I was waiting
for a Chevrolet agency at Walnut Creek because I worked for Chevrolet - Robert A.
Smith in San Francisco - when I was going to school. And I had an in with a fellow
that gave the distributors out -- distribution out. And so I was waiting for the
Chevrolet agency when someone asked me, "Would you introduce Reddi-Whip that just
came on the market" because I knew all the stores and their wholesalers had changed
stores and everything in 11 western states. And so I was introducing Reddi-Whip down
here when I got suckered into buying a piece of Producers Dairy...
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter]
>>Larry Shehadey: ...which I didn't know anything about: the cows being fresh in the
spring and dry in the fall.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter]
>>Larry Shehadey: That's about as stupid as I could ever get. But I knew one thing.
If I didn't work at it, I was going to lose everything so I kept working and when I
came here, there were 45 dairies between Bakersfield and Manteca including Borden's
and Knudsen and now they're all broke and gone. And there are only 2 people -there's only 2 dairies left in the valley and I'm one of them.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Fifty years, huh?
>>Larry Shehadey: Yep, 50 years. And it's gone by real fast when you come to think
of it. My boy Richard works in there and John did for awhile. But he runs the
convenience stores. So he's a -- it's been a real experience. I finally got into
farming because they told me if I didn't have milk, I'd be in trouble so they
thought it was a good idea. So I bought 113, 114 cows from a fellow that was up in
this area but he was from the Central Valley. And so he said, "Will you run the
dairy for me?" And I didn't know anything about cows so I said yeah. And about 6
months or 8 months later, the fellows that he had working for him were stealing
calves and selling cows and so he asked me to buy it. I said I didn't have any
money. He said "Well just pay me whenever you can." I said, "My wife's about ready
to leave me if I keep coming up here losing cows." So anyway, that's how I got in
the dairy business.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: So that was about 1949 when you came to Fresno and started
your dairy business.
>>Larry Shehadey: Yeah, and I didn't know anything about -- my competitors taught me
more than anybody.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: What was Fresno like when you came here in 1949?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well, I used to come down here as the soap business because we had
a salesman here and I had to come down and work with him. But it seemed like just a
little country town and well Los Angeles was growing fast and Pasadena and all those
places and the valley seemed to be very stagnant. And so it looked like -- maybe it
was the heat, maybe it was the farms, maybe it was just people but I never dreamed
about going in business here because it always seemed like they were slow at picking
things up. But it turned out I think they were too many farming type people here
instead of manufacturing type people like you have in San Francisco and Los Angeles
and so on. So it looked like it was going to be a long time and it was a long time
before people realized that they needed some more businesses and manufacturing in
the towns to keep the people in the town working and not just working 6 months out
of the year on the farms then coming back. It was kind of an odd situation because
being in California, San Francisco and Los Angeles and places, it was never like
that. This seemed to be a 90 percent production of farms and 10 or 20 percent
manufacturing. But it's come around now and I think the people that are trying to
run the cities are becoming more cognizant of it in the county. And I think that
Pete Mehas has done a terrific job educating the people because he participates in
so many community activities and that's how you get to learn what's going on.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well thank you.
>>Larry Shehadey: Fortunate for him was that I knew his mom and dad before I ever
came to Fresno. And I used to get some of the best food in the town when I came
here.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well with that, let's just -- I want to give Mr. Shehadey a
drink of water real quick like and then we'll just start up again.
>>Larry Shehadey:
in athletics, all
them. That's with
were with her all
Eight grandchildren, 4 in each family, all A and B students, all
play instruments, all go to church. Great kids. I mean all of
my wife though not me. She -- those kids when they grew up, they
the time.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter] Okay, we'll click her on again? Larry, you probably
knew Lee Peters as he was affectionately called more than a lot of folks. You were
very, very close to he and Alice. When did you meet Lee?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well Lee, when I came to Fresno, they had their little plant on -what's that -- south of Fulton?
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Right.
>>Larry Shehadey: What's the name of that next street?
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Broadway.
>>Larry Shehadey: Broadway.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Right.
>>Larry Shehadey: They had a little place on Broadway and so they moved out to the
big plant. While they were on Broadway, we used Mr. Peters’ company to do a lot of
our work for some of our equipment. So by being a customer, we got to know each
other pretty well. And especially with him serving and working with a lot of the
dairies in the valley which there were quite a few, he realized the problems that
you have in the dairy business if you want to put out a good product, you have to
have your equipment clean, you have to have your equipment running properly and you
have to have good, qualified employees. So he knew that when I talked to him that
I'd been in the soap business before, that we did that and I wanted the same thing
at Producers. So he helped me quite a bit. And he's a nice, quiet sort of person.
When you ask him a question, he'd think for a second. They he'd give you a good,
solid answer. It helped me tremendously.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well the Leon S. Peters Award of course sponsored by the
Fresno Chamber of Commerce personifies everything that Leon S. Peters stood for: not
only a successful businessman, but giving so much to his community. And so the
recipients - you being one of the recipients - you're like the pillar of our
community. You have earned the respect of all and clearly you have been a successful
businessman. Everybody knows Producers Dairy has been successful. You've been a
successful father with your lovely family. What caused Larry Shehadey to get
involved with other things other than the business? Giving so much to the community.
What was in your background that said, "There's got to be more than just being a
successful businessman," because you gave so much?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well I guess I was raised that way. My folks in San Francisco
helped people out during the Depression. There were so many people that didn't even
have a job and I remember my folks -- we had a little grocery store and she gave
some of the families milk and bread for nothing just to help them. And I was just a
young person. And so I saw my family do that. I saw that we were fortunate and God
was good to us and I thought that this was a good way to thank the Lord for me
having the success I had and guided me on making right decisions. And I feel that I
think if everyone would be a little more conscious of other people, not beggars but
people that need it, we'd have a better world today.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: What did it mean to you to get that award, probably the most
prestigious award for you to be named the Leon S. Peters? I mean you've have
success, but to get that award, what did it mean to you as a person?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well it's kind of ironical because I didn't expect it. Although I
had previous award and they had -- my daughter-in-law dug up all the things that
I've been doing since I've been in Fresno and there was about 50 things I'd never
even dreamed that I was getting all these awards. She found awards and my back room
in the office and now we have them all over the walls in the new building. And I
never realized that. And so I guess by doing the things I did which is what the
community really needed, and I wasn't the only one. There were a lot of people that
participated but not as strenuous as I did I guess. And I've contributed to
hospitals and different schools and things that I felt was good for the community
and I guess that's probably where it came back.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well you look at every yearbook for the last 50 years and
Larry Shehadey and Producers Dairy are always in them supporting education. Of
course Fresno City College, you're like the godfather to Fresno City College as Bob
Duncan is to Fresno State. You've been the godfather of Fresno City College. Let me
ask you this. Tom Brokaw recently wrote a book called The Greatest Generation. And
he speaks of your generation that went through the Depression, they fought the
Second World War, they put the man on the moon. What was it about your generation
that made them so giving, so visionary, so daring, so risk-taking? What do you think
made that generation because today's generation is different?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well I really believe that the generation that I grew up in was a
little that way but there was nothing that made them come out in the open until
World War II. And when everyone was drafted to the point where there was hardly any
dad left that had children was aged to keep them out of the service, it left this -a void here. And when you grew up and saw some of your friends' fathers drafted into
the service and some came back and some didn't, it made you very cognizant. I happen
to be very fortunate because we were manufacturing soap, and that meant manufactured
glycerin. And so being in glycerins, I was vice president and one of the 3 directors
and sales manager, so it was important that our business stayed in business so that
the government could get the glycerin with us making soap.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Sure.
>>Larry Shehadey: So I just happened to be lucky being in the right place at the
right time I guess. Because there was a couple of times I was pretty well drafted
and when they found I was in a necessary industry just like being a soldier…
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Sure, sure.
>>Larry Shehadey: …they let me go. And not
and they were afraid if he died, why there
And I was the only logical one so it was a
to me in a sense. I'm going to say that to
only that but my boss was fairly elderly
wouldn't be anyone to run the business.
break for me. So God has been pretty good
you.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Where do you see Fresno going? You've watched Fresno from its
infancy through its childhood in the late ‘40s and now we're getting ready to the
change of the millennium. What do you see Fresno from your vantage point, where do
you see Fresno heading?
>>Larry Shehadey: It's kind of ironical because I think everyone wonders where
Fresno's going. When I first came here, Fresno seemed to be the dead city compared
to Los Angeles and San Francisco, Sacramento, San Jose, Santa Clara and places like
that were all going and Fresno just seemed to be plodding along when I came here.
And it seemed like I think the council and supervisors we had were typical of say
Calwa supervisors, instead of Fresno supervisors and so they couldn't see anything
farther than their nose on their face. And so they fought for the idiosyncrasies
that held Fresno back. Actually being in San Francisco and my folks were fairly
political and we had a lot of people in San Francisco that we knew so I had a chance
to see first hand how politics operated. And so I could see here that it was a dead
beat and every time they elected any councilmen or supervisors, they should have
been riding on a stagecoach out of town...
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter]
>>Larry Shehadey: ...out of town instead of coming into town. No this is the truth..
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yeah.
>>Larry Shehadey: ...I mean and now I think the fellows that we have are a little
more progressive and they're still trying to make this town a large town with some
little ideas yet. But they're so much better than the ones in the past. And I have
to say that I've helped support some of those that got in past that were failures.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter] But you have a pretty good batting average overall.
>>Larry Shehadey: Yeah.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: What advice would you give to young people today who are
starting off in business? They want -- some of them want to be president of the firm
after their first year but any advice as an extremely successful businessman? What
advice would you give to someone who wants to go -- to start their own business?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well, when you read about 90 percent of the people that go into
business and by the 10th year have failed. And most of them are educated and they're
smart and intelligent but they don't have the desire to put the extra effort to make
the business successful. And you're not dealing with equipment: you're dealing with
people. And when you're in Europe and Italy and you're all Italians, well you know
who they are. Over in France, you know who they are. But here you've got a little
bit of everybody. You have to be French, and everybody's Italian or Irish.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter] Right.
>>Larry Shehadey: But you're trying to educate people based on your philosophy and
they can't understand it. But then comes along this new later age in the last 10
years: the young people of today have had mothers working and the fathers working.
And the kids have no idea of a family discussion whether they're having hard times
or anything so when they graduate they think, "Gee my mothers make a lot of money.
My fathers make a lot of money. We've got cars. And so I guess I could do the same
thing because they're not very smart. Because I have some friends that their parents
are smarter than my parents and they weren't very smart. So if they can do that,
maybe I can do it." Well I don't think anyone can do anything other than the ability
they have and the desire. If you have no desire, you're going to be a failure
anyway. And I was trained to do something. My family is that way. My eight boys are
that way. Our grandchildren are also. And that is I don't like lying or stealing.
It's one of the first things my parents taught me. And the only reason why I'm here
right now, I don't like anyone working for me that lies or steals. They can be bad,
they can be hard and they can everything. If they start lying to me, they're on
their way out. And so as a result, we have people that don't lie or steal that I
know of and as a result, they all work together.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: And they certainly do.
>>Larry Shehadey: And it works out. I had that on the farm. I've had that on the -with the fellows that can hardly speak English [inaudible] Producers Dairy. And I've
had it with the convenience stores. It's all been the same philosophy. So lying and
stealing has been my bible. And I don't lie and I don't steal because I don't need
to steal because I can make what I want to make. I don't need to lie because I can
tell the truth and get a lot more and have a lot more respect. And I don't think
that if I was -- didn't have that philosophy, I don't think I would have got the
Peters Award.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: I think you're absolutely correct. Last question: Knute
Rockne, the famous Notre Dame football coach once said, "When the great scorekeeper
records the score, it matters not who wins or loses but how the game is played."
When they record the life of Larry Shehadey, Leon S. Peters recipient, what do you
want them to remember about you as a person?
>>Larry Shehadey: You know, I never really thought about that with all the awards I
got. The whole wall in the office of the new building is full of them. I didn't even
know Richard had pulled them out of the back room and I'd forgot they were there.
But really, there's hardly in today's life one thing that you could bank on. There's
so many good things, but the 2 things that leads me to do the right thing is that I
don't want anyone lying or stealing and I don't want to lie. If I have to lie, I say
I don't know anything and I don't want to be involved in. And I do that with people.
I've scarred people for lying because if they lie, they steal. And my philosophy is
not because I had a -- I had a Scotch boss that came out here and just being Scotch
was bad enough.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter]
>>Larry Shehadey: But he was a Christian scientist. You did nothing wrong the second
time. Or you're walking the street and so I was a kid and working for him I had to
change completely. It's like being white and turning black or something else. And so
it was a godsend that I got to work for him.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well I certainly thank Mr. Shehadey. Your family, your boys,
your grandchildren, the Shehadey name is well respected. It stands for integrity and
it is something that you certainly can be proud of. Lastly, I just have to ask you
this. Growing up in Fresno today, I can still remember Producers Dairies and Hoppy
Hopalong Cassidy and Daryle Lamonica. You clearly were able to market that very,
very well.
>>Larry Shehadey: I picked the right ones. When I got Hopalong Cassidy it happened
to me because I happened to be -- well I was still in the Bay area, met the fellow
that managed Hopalong Cassidy's business activities. And so I got to be friends of
his, not knowing I was going to get in the dairy business or anything like that. And
so he got me acquainted with Hoppy personally. And we became really good friends. We
had him up here for parades and I remember one parade their 50th year or something
and they couldn't get anyone. And they were having a tough time with the city and
finally. They came to me, "Can you get Hopalong Cassidy here?" I said, "I'll try."
And when I found out that he could come, all of a sudden the newspapers, the radios,
people are coming in from as far away as almost from Bakersfield came into the
parade. And when he came through the parade, people started to leave after he came
by. It's really unbelievable how things worked those days.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: It really wasn't. And lastly, I remember a person who I
admired and respected, George Christopher: another dairyman, Mayor of San Francisco.
He certainly thinks the world of you and every time I see him in San Francisco, he's
along in years, he says, "You say hi to Mr. Shehadey" because he certainly respects
you.
>>Larry Shehadey: Well it was kind of ironical because I met him while I was still
in the soap business. And he's been a successful person and I was still just another
employee somewhere. And so I admired his activities. I admired his, what his desires
were for the benefit of San Francisco and he fought for those rights. And when he
was mayor, why it made me proud to know that I knew him. It made him real happy. I
hope you tell him hello from me too when you see him.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well also on behalf of the Fresno Chamber of
to congratulate you for being a Leon S. Peters recipient and for a
achievement and what you've contributed to the city of Fresno, but
legacy lives on in your children and your grandchildren. And so we
and it's been an honor to have you on this video.
Commerce, we want
lifetime of
certainly your
congratulate you
>>Larry Shehadey: Well I'm certainly glad and I appreciate that. And coming from you
because I've known you and your family for so long, that I'm sure that if I was
doing something wrong those years, you'd have known about it.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: I would. Congratulations.
>>Larry Shehadey: Thank you very much.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Thank you.
==== Transcribed by Automatic Sync Technologies ====
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Name, place of birth and date of birth.
>>Larry Shehadey: My name is Larry Shehadey.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yeah.
>>Larry Shehadey: I was born in Tuolumne County, California. I was raised near the
Merced River just above the Merced Falls. I went to school 5 and a half miles from
where we lived to a little one teacher school that had 8 grades. I had to ride a
little horse way to it. And many times it - during the rainy season - my boots were
full of water when I got home. And there was times that I had to leave the horse on
the other side of the creek when there was a big storm and walk along the railroad
bridge to get home. And that was when I started out at 6 years old. And so I've been
struggling ever since.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: So you're a native Californian?
>>Larry Shehadey: Yes, a native Californian. I can remember where we were -- many
people used to go to Yosemite Valley and through Merced Falls. And they had little
2-engine carriages that probably are not in existence anymore. And they used to stop
at our place to get gas and oil and then go on up through Coulterville into the
mining country. And a lot of them came back broke because the mines that were sold
to them in San Francisco didn't have any gold up there. So I had a good education
watching people go broke while I was a young boy.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: How did you get involved in the dairy business and when did
you come to Fresno?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well, as we would -- I moved to San Francisco when I was about 12
I guess, or 11, somewhere in there. And that's where I was raised and went to
school: Polytechnic High School near the Kezar Stadium. And I used to have to take a
streetcar from my way and take about an hour to get to school. But I got into the
soap business accidentally by a friend of mine that helped my folks that was in the
-- was a stockholder in this company. And so it was right after the Depression and
so there weren't very many jobs around. And so I got this job giving out some
coupons and samples and gave them out in Los Angeles. And eventually I got a sales
territory from part of San Francisco, up Eureka and down to King City. So I was
fortunate enough to become a salesman and eventually they put us all on a
commission. And as a result, I made enough money to - when we sold the company - to
be able to buy a percentage of the Producers Dairy who happened to -- a fellow who
owned 50 percent of it, worked for the railroad, and never worked at the dairy so it
looked like a good deal for me. I could just get a piece of this action and it
wasn't regulated in those days. They told you what you paid for milk. Told you what
you sold it to the store for.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: So you went from the soap business to the dairy business?
>>Larry Shehadey: Yeah.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Interesting.
>>Larry Shehadey: And I got -- I bought a piece of the Producers Dairy I was waiting
for a Chevrolet agency at Walnut Creek because I worked for Chevrolet - Robert A.
Smith in San Francisco - when I was going to school. And I had an in with a fellow
that gave the distributors out -- distribution out. And so I was waiting for the
Chevrolet agency when someone asked me, "Would you introduce Reddi-Whip that just
came on the market" because I knew all the stores and their wholesalers had changed
stores and everything in 11 western states. And so I was introducing Reddi-Whip down
here when I got suckered into buying a piece of Producers Dairy...
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter]
>>Larry Shehadey: ...which I didn't know anything about: the cows being fresh in the
spring and dry in the fall.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter]
>>Larry Shehadey: That's about as stupid as I could ever get. But I knew one thing.
If I didn't work at it, I was going to lose everything so I kept working and when I
came here, there were 45 dairies between Bakersfield and Manteca including Borden's
and Knudsen and now they're all broke and gone. And there are only 2 people -there's only 2 dairies left in the valley and I'm one of them.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Fifty years, huh?
>>Larry Shehadey: Yep, 50 years. And it's gone by real fast when you come to think
of it. My boy Richard works in there and John did for awhile. But he runs the
convenience stores. So he's a -- it's been a real experience. I finally got into
farming because they told me if I didn't have milk, I'd be in trouble so they
thought it was a good idea. So I bought 113, 114 cows from a fellow that was up in
this area but he was from the Central Valley. And so he said, "Will you run the
dairy for me?" And I didn't know anything about cows so I said yeah. And about 6
months or 8 months later, the fellows that he had working for him were stealing
calves and selling cows and so he asked me to buy it. I said I didn't have any
money. He said "Well just pay me whenever you can." I said, "My wife's about ready
to leave me if I keep coming up here losing cows." So anyway, that's how I got in
the dairy business.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: So that was about 1949 when you came to Fresno and started
your dairy business.
>>Larry Shehadey: Yeah, and I didn't know anything about -- my competitors taught me
more than anybody.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: What was Fresno like when you came here in 1949?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well, I used to come down here as the soap business because we had
a salesman here and I had to come down and work with him. But it seemed like just a
little country town and well Los Angeles was growing fast and Pasadena and all those
places and the valley seemed to be very stagnant. And so it looked like -- maybe it
was the heat, maybe it was the farms, maybe it was just people but I never dreamed
about going in business here because it always seemed like they were slow at picking
things up. But it turned out I think they were too many farming type people here
instead of manufacturing type people like you have in San Francisco and Los Angeles
and so on. So it looked like it was going to be a long time and it was a long time
before people realized that they needed some more businesses and manufacturing in
the towns to keep the people in the town working and not just working 6 months out
of the year on the farms then coming back. It was kind of an odd situation because
being in California, San Francisco and Los Angeles and places, it was never like
that. This seemed to be a 90 percent production of farms and 10 or 20 percent
manufacturing. But it's come around now and I think the people that are trying to
run the cities are becoming more cognizant of it in the county. And I think that
Pete Mehas has done a terrific job educating the people because he participates in
so many community activities and that's how you get to learn what's going on.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well thank you.
>>Larry Shehadey: Fortunate for him was that I knew his mom and dad before I ever
came to Fresno. And I used to get some of the best food in the town when I came
here.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well with that, let's just -- I want to give Mr. Shehadey a
drink of water real quick like and then we'll just start up again.
>>Larry Shehadey:
in athletics, all
them. That's with
were with her all
Eight grandchildren, 4 in each family, all A and B students, all
play instruments, all go to church. Great kids. I mean all of
my wife though not me. She -- those kids when they grew up, they
the time.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter] Okay, we'll click her on again? Larry, you probably
knew Lee Peters as he was affectionately called more than a lot of folks. You were
very, very close to he and Alice. When did you meet Lee?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well Lee, when I came to Fresno, they had their little plant on -what's that -- south of Fulton?
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Right.
>>Larry Shehadey: What's the name of that next street?
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Broadway.
>>Larry Shehadey: Broadway.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Right.
>>Larry Shehadey: They had a little place on Broadway and so they moved out to the
big plant. While they were on Broadway, we used Mr. Peters’ company to do a lot of
our work for some of our equipment. So by being a customer, we got to know each
other pretty well. And especially with him serving and working with a lot of the
dairies in the valley which there were quite a few, he realized the problems that
you have in the dairy business if you want to put out a good product, you have to
have your equipment clean, you have to have your equipment running properly and you
have to have good, qualified employees. So he knew that when I talked to him that
I'd been in the soap business before, that we did that and I wanted the same thing
at Producers. So he helped me quite a bit. And he's a nice, quiet sort of person.
When you ask him a question, he'd think for a second. They he'd give you a good,
solid answer. It helped me tremendously.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well the Leon S. Peters Award of course sponsored by the
Fresno Chamber of Commerce personifies everything that Leon S. Peters stood for: not
only a successful businessman, but giving so much to his community. And so the
recipients - you being one of the recipients - you're like the pillar of our
community. You have earned the respect of all and clearly you have been a successful
businessman. Everybody knows Producers Dairy has been successful. You've been a
successful father with your lovely family. What caused Larry Shehadey to get
involved with other things other than the business? Giving so much to the community.
What was in your background that said, "There's got to be more than just being a
successful businessman," because you gave so much?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well I guess I was raised that way. My folks in San Francisco
helped people out during the Depression. There were so many people that didn't even
have a job and I remember my folks -- we had a little grocery store and she gave
some of the families milk and bread for nothing just to help them. And I was just a
young person. And so I saw my family do that. I saw that we were fortunate and God
was good to us and I thought that this was a good way to thank the Lord for me
having the success I had and guided me on making right decisions. And I feel that I
think if everyone would be a little more conscious of other people, not beggars but
people that need it, we'd have a better world today.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: What did it mean to you to get that award, probably the most
prestigious award for you to be named the Leon S. Peters? I mean you've have
success, but to get that award, what did it mean to you as a person?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well it's kind of ironical because I didn't expect it. Although I
had previous award and they had -- my daughter-in-law dug up all the things that
I've been doing since I've been in Fresno and there was about 50 things I'd never
even dreamed that I was getting all these awards. She found awards and my back room
in the office and now we have them all over the walls in the new building. And I
never realized that. And so I guess by doing the things I did which is what the
community really needed, and I wasn't the only one. There were a lot of people that
participated but not as strenuous as I did I guess. And I've contributed to
hospitals and different schools and things that I felt was good for the community
and I guess that's probably where it came back.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well you look at every yearbook for the last 50 years and
Larry Shehadey and Producers Dairy are always in them supporting education. Of
course Fresno City College, you're like the godfather to Fresno City College as Bob
Duncan is to Fresno State. You've been the godfather of Fresno City College. Let me
ask you this. Tom Brokaw recently wrote a book called The Greatest Generation. And
he speaks of your generation that went through the Depression, they fought the
Second World War, they put the man on the moon. What was it about your generation
that made them so giving, so visionary, so daring, so risk-taking? What do you think
made that generation because today's generation is different?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well I really believe that the generation that I grew up in was a
little that way but there was nothing that made them come out in the open until
World War II. And when everyone was drafted to the point where there was hardly any
dad left that had children was aged to keep them out of the service, it left this -a void here. And when you grew up and saw some of your friends' fathers drafted into
the service and some came back and some didn't, it made you very cognizant. I happen
to be very fortunate because we were manufacturing soap, and that meant manufactured
glycerin. And so being in glycerins, I was vice president and one of the 3 directors
and sales manager, so it was important that our business stayed in business so that
the government could get the glycerin with us making soap.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Sure.
>>Larry Shehadey: So I just happened to be lucky being in the right place at the
right time I guess. Because there was a couple of times I was pretty well drafted
and when they found I was in a necessary industry just like being a soldier…
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Sure, sure.
>>Larry Shehadey: …they let me go. And not
and they were afraid if he died, why there
And I was the only logical one so it was a
to me in a sense. I'm going to say that to
only that but my boss was fairly elderly
wouldn't be anyone to run the business.
break for me. So God has been pretty good
you.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Where do you see Fresno going? You've watched Fresno from its
infancy through its childhood in the late ‘40s and now we're getting ready to the
change of the millennium. What do you see Fresno from your vantage point, where do
you see Fresno heading?
>>Larry Shehadey: It's kind of ironical because I think everyone wonders where
Fresno's going. When I first came here, Fresno seemed to be the dead city compared
to Los Angeles and San Francisco, Sacramento, San Jose, Santa Clara and places like
that were all going and Fresno just seemed to be plodding along when I came here.
And it seemed like I think the council and supervisors we had were typical of say
Calwa supervisors, instead of Fresno supervisors and so they couldn't see anything
farther than their nose on their face. And so they fought for the idiosyncrasies
that held Fresno back. Actually being in San Francisco and my folks were fairly
political and we had a lot of people in San Francisco that we knew so I had a chance
to see first hand how politics operated. And so I could see here that it was a dead
beat and every time they elected any councilmen or supervisors, they should have
been riding on a stagecoach out of town...
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter]
>>Larry Shehadey: ...out of town instead of coming into town. No this is the truth..
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yeah.
>>Larry Shehadey: ...I mean and now I think the fellows that we have are a little
more progressive and they're still trying to make this town a large town with some
little ideas yet. But they're so much better than the ones in the past. And I have
to say that I've helped support some of those that got in past that were failures.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter] But you have a pretty good batting average overall.
>>Larry Shehadey: Yeah.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: What advice would you give to young people today who are
starting off in business? They want -- some of them want to be president of the firm
after their first year but any advice as an extremely successful businessman? What
advice would you give to someone who wants to go -- to start their own business?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well, when you read about 90 percent of the people that go into
business and by the 10th year have failed. And most of them are educated and they're
smart and intelligent but they don't have the desire to put the extra effort to make
the business successful. And you're not dealing with equipment: you're dealing with
people. And when you're in Europe and Italy and you're all Italians, well you know
who they are. Over in France, you know who they are. But here you've got a little
bit of everybody. You have to be French, and everybody's Italian or Irish.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter] Right.
>>Larry Shehadey: But you're trying to educate people based on your philosophy and
they can't understand it. But then comes along this new later age in the last 10
years: the young people of today have had mothers working and the fathers working.
And the kids have no idea of a family discussion whether they're having hard times
or anything so when they graduate they think, "Gee my mothers make a lot of money.
My fathers make a lot of money. We've got cars. And so I guess I could do the same
thing because they're not very smart. Because I have some friends that their parents
are smarter than my parents and they weren't very smart. So if they can do that,
maybe I can do it." Well I don't think anyone can do anything other than the ability
they have and the desire. If you have no desire, you're going to be a failure
anyway. And I was trained to do something. My family is that way. My eight boys are
that way. Our grandchildren are also. And that is I don't like lying or stealing.
It's one of the first things my parents taught me. And the only reason why I'm here
right now, I don't like anyone working for me that lies or steals. They can be bad,
they can be hard and they can everything. If they start lying to me, they're on
their way out. And so as a result, we have people that don't lie or steal that I
know of and as a result, they all work together.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: And they certainly do.
>>Larry Shehadey: And it works out. I had that on the farm. I've had that on the -with the fellows that can hardly speak English [inaudible] Producers Dairy. And I've
had it with the convenience stores. It's all been the same philosophy. So lying and
stealing has been my bible. And I don't lie and I don't steal because I don't need
to steal because I can make what I want to make. I don't need to lie because I can
tell the truth and get a lot more and have a lot more respect. And I don't think
that if I was -- didn't have that philosophy, I don't think I would have got the
Peters Award.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: I think you're absolutely correct. Last question: Knute
Rockne, the famous Notre Dame football coach once said, "When the great scorekeeper
records the score, it matters not who wins or loses but how the game is played."
When they record the life of Larry Shehadey, Leon S. Peters recipient, what do you
want them to remember about you as a person?
>>Larry Shehadey: You know, I never really thought about that with all the awards I
got. The whole wall in the office of the new building is full of them. I didn't even
know Richard had pulled them out of the back room and I'd forgot they were there.
But really, there's hardly in today's life one thing that you could bank on. There's
so many good things, but the 2 things that leads me to do the right thing is that I
don't want anyone lying or stealing and I don't want to lie. If I have to lie, I say
I don't know anything and I don't want to be involved in. And I do that with people.
I've scarred people for lying because if they lie, they steal. And my philosophy is
not because I had a -- I had a Scotch boss that came out here and just being Scotch
was bad enough.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter]
>>Larry Shehadey: But he was a Christian scientist. You did nothing wrong the second
time. Or you're walking the street and so I was a kid and working for him I had to
change completely. It's like being white and turning black or something else. And so
it was a godsend that I got to work for him.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well I certainly thank Mr. Shehadey. Your family, your boys,
your grandchildren, the Shehadey name is well respected. It stands for integrity and
it is something that you certainly can be proud of. Lastly, I just have to ask you
this. Growing up in Fresno today, I can still remember Producers Dairies and Hoppy
Hopalong Cassidy and Daryle Lamonica. You clearly were able to market that very,
very well.
>>Larry Shehadey: I picked the right ones. When I got Hopalong Cassidy it happened
to me because I happened to be -- well I was still in the Bay area, met the fellow
that managed Hopalong Cassidy's business activities. And so I got to be friends of
his, not knowing I was going to get in the dairy business or anything like that. And
so he got me acquainted with Hoppy personally. And we became really good friends. We
had him up here for parades and I remember one parade their 50th year or something
and they couldn't get anyone. And they were having a tough time with the city and
finally. They came to me, "Can you get Hopalong Cassidy here?" I said, "I'll try."
And when I found out that he could come, all of a sudden the newspapers, the radios,
people are coming in from as far away as almost from Bakersfield came into the
parade. And when he came through the parade, people started to leave after he came
by. It's really unbelievable how things worked those days.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: It really wasn't. And lastly, I remember a person who I
admired and respected, George Christopher: another dairyman, Mayor of San Francisco.
He certainly thinks the world of you and every time I see him in San Francisco, he's
along in years, he says, "You say hi to Mr. Shehadey" because he certainly respects
you.
>>Larry Shehadey: Well it was kind of ironical because I met him while I was still
in the soap business. And he's been a successful person and I was still just another
employee somewhere. And so I admired his activities. I admired his, what his desires
were for the benefit of San Francisco and he fought for those rights. And when he
was mayor, why it made me proud to know that I knew him. It made him real happy. I
hope you tell him hello from me too when you see him.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well also on behalf of the Fresno Chamber of
to congratulate you for being a Leon S. Peters recipient and for a
achievement and what you've contributed to the city of Fresno, but
legacy lives on in your children and your grandchildren. And so we
and it's been an honor to have you on this video.
Commerce, we want
lifetime of
certainly your
congratulate you
>>Larry Shehadey: Well I'm certainly glad and I appreciate that. And coming from you
because I've known you and your family for so long, that I'm sure that if I was
doing something wrong those years, you'd have known about it.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: I would. Congratulations.
>>Larry Shehadey: Thank you very much.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Thank you.
==== Transcribed by Automatic Sync Technologies ====
>>Larry Shehadey: My name is Larry Shehadey.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yeah.
>>Larry Shehadey: I was born in Tuolumne County, California. I was raised near the
Merced River just above the Merced Falls. I went to school 5 and a half miles from
where we lived to a little one teacher school that had 8 grades. I had to ride a
little horse way to it. And many times it - during the rainy season - my boots were
full of water when I got home. And there was times that I had to leave the horse on
the other side of the creek when there was a big storm and walk along the railroad
bridge to get home. And that was when I started out at 6 years old. And so I've been
struggling ever since.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: So you're a native Californian?
>>Larry Shehadey: Yes, a native Californian. I can remember where we were -- many
people used to go to Yosemite Valley and through Merced Falls. And they had little
2-engine carriages that probably are not in existence anymore. And they used to stop
at our place to get gas and oil and then go on up through Coulterville into the
mining country. And a lot of them came back broke because the mines that were sold
to them in San Francisco didn't have any gold up there. So I had a good education
watching people go broke while I was a young boy.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: How did you get involved in the dairy business and when did
you come to Fresno?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well, as we would -- I moved to San Francisco when I was about 12
I guess, or 11, somewhere in there. And that's where I was raised and went to
school: Polytechnic High School near the Kezar Stadium. And I used to have to take a
streetcar from my way and take about an hour to get to school. But I got into the
soap business accidentally by a friend of mine that helped my folks that was in the
-- was a stockholder in this company. And so it was right after the Depression and
so there weren't very many jobs around. And so I got this job giving out some
coupons and samples and gave them out in Los Angeles. And eventually I got a sales
territory from part of San Francisco, up Eureka and down to King City. So I was
fortunate enough to become a salesman and eventually they put us all on a
commission. And as a result, I made enough money to - when we sold the company - to
be able to buy a percentage of the Producers Dairy who happened to -- a fellow who
owned 50 percent of it, worked for the railroad, and never worked at the dairy so it
looked like a good deal for me. I could just get a piece of this action and it
wasn't regulated in those days. They told you what you paid for milk. Told you what
you sold it to the store for.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: So you went from the soap business to the dairy business?
>>Larry Shehadey: Yeah.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Interesting.
>>Larry Shehadey: And I got -- I bought a piece of the Producers Dairy I was waiting
for a Chevrolet agency at Walnut Creek because I worked for Chevrolet - Robert A.
Smith in San Francisco - when I was going to school. And I had an in with a fellow
that gave the distributors out -- distribution out. And so I was waiting for the
Chevrolet agency when someone asked me, "Would you introduce Reddi-Whip that just
came on the market" because I knew all the stores and their wholesalers had changed
stores and everything in 11 western states. And so I was introducing Reddi-Whip down
here when I got suckered into buying a piece of Producers Dairy...
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter]
>>Larry Shehadey: ...which I didn't know anything about: the cows being fresh in the
spring and dry in the fall.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter]
>>Larry Shehadey: That's about as stupid as I could ever get. But I knew one thing.
If I didn't work at it, I was going to lose everything so I kept working and when I
came here, there were 45 dairies between Bakersfield and Manteca including Borden's
and Knudsen and now they're all broke and gone. And there are only 2 people -there's only 2 dairies left in the valley and I'm one of them.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Fifty years, huh?
>>Larry Shehadey: Yep, 50 years. And it's gone by real fast when you come to think
of it. My boy Richard works in there and John did for awhile. But he runs the
convenience stores. So he's a -- it's been a real experience. I finally got into
farming because they told me if I didn't have milk, I'd be in trouble so they
thought it was a good idea. So I bought 113, 114 cows from a fellow that was up in
this area but he was from the Central Valley. And so he said, "Will you run the
dairy for me?" And I didn't know anything about cows so I said yeah. And about 6
months or 8 months later, the fellows that he had working for him were stealing
calves and selling cows and so he asked me to buy it. I said I didn't have any
money. He said "Well just pay me whenever you can." I said, "My wife's about ready
to leave me if I keep coming up here losing cows." So anyway, that's how I got in
the dairy business.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: So that was about 1949 when you came to Fresno and started
your dairy business.
>>Larry Shehadey: Yeah, and I didn't know anything about -- my competitors taught me
more than anybody.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: What was Fresno like when you came here in 1949?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well, I used to come down here as the soap business because we had
a salesman here and I had to come down and work with him. But it seemed like just a
little country town and well Los Angeles was growing fast and Pasadena and all those
places and the valley seemed to be very stagnant. And so it looked like -- maybe it
was the heat, maybe it was the farms, maybe it was just people but I never dreamed
about going in business here because it always seemed like they were slow at picking
things up. But it turned out I think they were too many farming type people here
instead of manufacturing type people like you have in San Francisco and Los Angeles
and so on. So it looked like it was going to be a long time and it was a long time
before people realized that they needed some more businesses and manufacturing in
the towns to keep the people in the town working and not just working 6 months out
of the year on the farms then coming back. It was kind of an odd situation because
being in California, San Francisco and Los Angeles and places, it was never like
that. This seemed to be a 90 percent production of farms and 10 or 20 percent
manufacturing. But it's come around now and I think the people that are trying to
run the cities are becoming more cognizant of it in the county. And I think that
Pete Mehas has done a terrific job educating the people because he participates in
so many community activities and that's how you get to learn what's going on.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well thank you.
>>Larry Shehadey: Fortunate for him was that I knew his mom and dad before I ever
came to Fresno. And I used to get some of the best food in the town when I came
here.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well with that, let's just -- I want to give Mr. Shehadey a
drink of water real quick like and then we'll just start up again.
>>Larry Shehadey:
in athletics, all
them. That's with
were with her all
Eight grandchildren, 4 in each family, all A and B students, all
play instruments, all go to church. Great kids. I mean all of
my wife though not me. She -- those kids when they grew up, they
the time.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter] Okay, we'll click her on again? Larry, you probably
knew Lee Peters as he was affectionately called more than a lot of folks. You were
very, very close to he and Alice. When did you meet Lee?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well Lee, when I came to Fresno, they had their little plant on -what's that -- south of Fulton?
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Right.
>>Larry Shehadey: What's the name of that next street?
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Broadway.
>>Larry Shehadey: Broadway.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Right.
>>Larry Shehadey: They had a little place on Broadway and so they moved out to the
big plant. While they were on Broadway, we used Mr. Peters’ company to do a lot of
our work for some of our equipment. So by being a customer, we got to know each
other pretty well. And especially with him serving and working with a lot of the
dairies in the valley which there were quite a few, he realized the problems that
you have in the dairy business if you want to put out a good product, you have to
have your equipment clean, you have to have your equipment running properly and you
have to have good, qualified employees. So he knew that when I talked to him that
I'd been in the soap business before, that we did that and I wanted the same thing
at Producers. So he helped me quite a bit. And he's a nice, quiet sort of person.
When you ask him a question, he'd think for a second. They he'd give you a good,
solid answer. It helped me tremendously.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well the Leon S. Peters Award of course sponsored by the
Fresno Chamber of Commerce personifies everything that Leon S. Peters stood for: not
only a successful businessman, but giving so much to his community. And so the
recipients - you being one of the recipients - you're like the pillar of our
community. You have earned the respect of all and clearly you have been a successful
businessman. Everybody knows Producers Dairy has been successful. You've been a
successful father with your lovely family. What caused Larry Shehadey to get
involved with other things other than the business? Giving so much to the community.
What was in your background that said, "There's got to be more than just being a
successful businessman," because you gave so much?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well I guess I was raised that way. My folks in San Francisco
helped people out during the Depression. There were so many people that didn't even
have a job and I remember my folks -- we had a little grocery store and she gave
some of the families milk and bread for nothing just to help them. And I was just a
young person. And so I saw my family do that. I saw that we were fortunate and God
was good to us and I thought that this was a good way to thank the Lord for me
having the success I had and guided me on making right decisions. And I feel that I
think if everyone would be a little more conscious of other people, not beggars but
people that need it, we'd have a better world today.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: What did it mean to you to get that award, probably the most
prestigious award for you to be named the Leon S. Peters? I mean you've have
success, but to get that award, what did it mean to you as a person?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well it's kind of ironical because I didn't expect it. Although I
had previous award and they had -- my daughter-in-law dug up all the things that
I've been doing since I've been in Fresno and there was about 50 things I'd never
even dreamed that I was getting all these awards. She found awards and my back room
in the office and now we have them all over the walls in the new building. And I
never realized that. And so I guess by doing the things I did which is what the
community really needed, and I wasn't the only one. There were a lot of people that
participated but not as strenuous as I did I guess. And I've contributed to
hospitals and different schools and things that I felt was good for the community
and I guess that's probably where it came back.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well you look at every yearbook for the last 50 years and
Larry Shehadey and Producers Dairy are always in them supporting education. Of
course Fresno City College, you're like the godfather to Fresno City College as Bob
Duncan is to Fresno State. You've been the godfather of Fresno City College. Let me
ask you this. Tom Brokaw recently wrote a book called The Greatest Generation. And
he speaks of your generation that went through the Depression, they fought the
Second World War, they put the man on the moon. What was it about your generation
that made them so giving, so visionary, so daring, so risk-taking? What do you think
made that generation because today's generation is different?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well I really believe that the generation that I grew up in was a
little that way but there was nothing that made them come out in the open until
World War II. And when everyone was drafted to the point where there was hardly any
dad left that had children was aged to keep them out of the service, it left this -a void here. And when you grew up and saw some of your friends' fathers drafted into
the service and some came back and some didn't, it made you very cognizant. I happen
to be very fortunate because we were manufacturing soap, and that meant manufactured
glycerin. And so being in glycerins, I was vice president and one of the 3 directors
and sales manager, so it was important that our business stayed in business so that
the government could get the glycerin with us making soap.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Sure.
>>Larry Shehadey: So I just happened to be lucky being in the right place at the
right time I guess. Because there was a couple of times I was pretty well drafted
and when they found I was in a necessary industry just like being a soldier…
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Sure, sure.
>>Larry Shehadey: …they let me go. And not
and they were afraid if he died, why there
And I was the only logical one so it was a
to me in a sense. I'm going to say that to
only that but my boss was fairly elderly
wouldn't be anyone to run the business.
break for me. So God has been pretty good
you.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Where do you see Fresno going? You've watched Fresno from its
infancy through its childhood in the late ‘40s and now we're getting ready to the
change of the millennium. What do you see Fresno from your vantage point, where do
you see Fresno heading?
>>Larry Shehadey: It's kind of ironical because I think everyone wonders where
Fresno's going. When I first came here, Fresno seemed to be the dead city compared
to Los Angeles and San Francisco, Sacramento, San Jose, Santa Clara and places like
that were all going and Fresno just seemed to be plodding along when I came here.
And it seemed like I think the council and supervisors we had were typical of say
Calwa supervisors, instead of Fresno supervisors and so they couldn't see anything
farther than their nose on their face. And so they fought for the idiosyncrasies
that held Fresno back. Actually being in San Francisco and my folks were fairly
political and we had a lot of people in San Francisco that we knew so I had a chance
to see first hand how politics operated. And so I could see here that it was a dead
beat and every time they elected any councilmen or supervisors, they should have
been riding on a stagecoach out of town...
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter]
>>Larry Shehadey: ...out of town instead of coming into town. No this is the truth..
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yeah.
>>Larry Shehadey: ...I mean and now I think the fellows that we have are a little
more progressive and they're still trying to make this town a large town with some
little ideas yet. But they're so much better than the ones in the past. And I have
to say that I've helped support some of those that got in past that were failures.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter] But you have a pretty good batting average overall.
>>Larry Shehadey: Yeah.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: What advice would you give to young people today who are
starting off in business? They want -- some of them want to be president of the firm
after their first year but any advice as an extremely successful businessman? What
advice would you give to someone who wants to go -- to start their own business?
>>Larry Shehadey: Well, when you read about 90 percent of the people that go into
business and by the 10th year have failed. And most of them are educated and they're
smart and intelligent but they don't have the desire to put the extra effort to make
the business successful. And you're not dealing with equipment: you're dealing with
people. And when you're in Europe and Italy and you're all Italians, well you know
who they are. Over in France, you know who they are. But here you've got a little
bit of everybody. You have to be French, and everybody's Italian or Irish.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter] Right.
>>Larry Shehadey: But you're trying to educate people based on your philosophy and
they can't understand it. But then comes along this new later age in the last 10
years: the young people of today have had mothers working and the fathers working.
And the kids have no idea of a family discussion whether they're having hard times
or anything so when they graduate they think, "Gee my mothers make a lot of money.
My fathers make a lot of money. We've got cars. And so I guess I could do the same
thing because they're not very smart. Because I have some friends that their parents
are smarter than my parents and they weren't very smart. So if they can do that,
maybe I can do it." Well I don't think anyone can do anything other than the ability
they have and the desire. If you have no desire, you're going to be a failure
anyway. And I was trained to do something. My family is that way. My eight boys are
that way. Our grandchildren are also. And that is I don't like lying or stealing.
It's one of the first things my parents taught me. And the only reason why I'm here
right now, I don't like anyone working for me that lies or steals. They can be bad,
they can be hard and they can everything. If they start lying to me, they're on
their way out. And so as a result, we have people that don't lie or steal that I
know of and as a result, they all work together.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: And they certainly do.
>>Larry Shehadey: And it works out. I had that on the farm. I've had that on the -with the fellows that can hardly speak English [inaudible] Producers Dairy. And I've
had it with the convenience stores. It's all been the same philosophy. So lying and
stealing has been my bible. And I don't lie and I don't steal because I don't need
to steal because I can make what I want to make. I don't need to lie because I can
tell the truth and get a lot more and have a lot more respect. And I don't think
that if I was -- didn't have that philosophy, I don't think I would have got the
Peters Award.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: I think you're absolutely correct. Last question: Knute
Rockne, the famous Notre Dame football coach once said, "When the great scorekeeper
records the score, it matters not who wins or loses but how the game is played."
When they record the life of Larry Shehadey, Leon S. Peters recipient, what do you
want them to remember about you as a person?
>>Larry Shehadey: You know, I never really thought about that with all the awards I
got. The whole wall in the office of the new building is full of them. I didn't even
know Richard had pulled them out of the back room and I'd forgot they were there.
But really, there's hardly in today's life one thing that you could bank on. There's
so many good things, but the 2 things that leads me to do the right thing is that I
don't want anyone lying or stealing and I don't want to lie. If I have to lie, I say
I don't know anything and I don't want to be involved in. And I do that with people.
I've scarred people for lying because if they lie, they steal. And my philosophy is
not because I had a -- I had a Scotch boss that came out here and just being Scotch
was bad enough.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [Laughter]
>>Larry Shehadey: But he was a Christian scientist. You did nothing wrong the second
time. Or you're walking the street and so I was a kid and working for him I had to
change completely. It's like being white and turning black or something else. And so
it was a godsend that I got to work for him.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well I certainly thank Mr. Shehadey. Your family, your boys,
your grandchildren, the Shehadey name is well respected. It stands for integrity and
it is something that you certainly can be proud of. Lastly, I just have to ask you
this. Growing up in Fresno today, I can still remember Producers Dairies and Hoppy
Hopalong Cassidy and Daryle Lamonica. You clearly were able to market that very,
very well.
>>Larry Shehadey: I picked the right ones. When I got Hopalong Cassidy it happened
to me because I happened to be -- well I was still in the Bay area, met the fellow
that managed Hopalong Cassidy's business activities. And so I got to be friends of
his, not knowing I was going to get in the dairy business or anything like that. And
so he got me acquainted with Hoppy personally. And we became really good friends. We
had him up here for parades and I remember one parade their 50th year or something
and they couldn't get anyone. And they were having a tough time with the city and
finally. They came to me, "Can you get Hopalong Cassidy here?" I said, "I'll try."
And when I found out that he could come, all of a sudden the newspapers, the radios,
people are coming in from as far away as almost from Bakersfield came into the
parade. And when he came through the parade, people started to leave after he came
by. It's really unbelievable how things worked those days.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: It really wasn't. And lastly, I remember a person who I
admired and respected, George Christopher: another dairyman, Mayor of San Francisco.
He certainly thinks the world of you and every time I see him in San Francisco, he's
along in years, he says, "You say hi to Mr. Shehadey" because he certainly respects
you.
>>Larry Shehadey: Well it was kind of ironical because I met him while I was still
in the soap business. And he's been a successful person and I was still just another
employee somewhere. And so I admired his activities. I admired his, what his desires
were for the benefit of San Francisco and he fought for those rights. And when he
was mayor, why it made me proud to know that I knew him. It made him real happy. I
hope you tell him hello from me too when you see him.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well also on behalf of the Fresno Chamber of
to congratulate you for being a Leon S. Peters recipient and for a
achievement and what you've contributed to the city of Fresno, but
legacy lives on in your children and your grandchildren. And so we
and it's been an honor to have you on this video.
Commerce, we want
lifetime of
certainly your
congratulate you
>>Larry Shehadey: Well I'm certainly glad and I appreciate that. And coming from you
because I've known you and your family for so long, that I'm sure that if I was
doing something wrong those years, you'd have known about it.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: I would. Congratulations.
>>Larry Shehadey: Thank you very much.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Thank you.
==== Transcribed by Automatic Sync Technologies ====