Reverend Deitzel interview

Item

Transcript of Reverend Deitzel interview

Title

Reverend Deitzel interview

Description

Talks about his friendship with Leon S. Peters and Peters commitment to giving back to the community.  He talks about Peters' religious beliefs and spirituality and the importance of family to him. He also talks about his friendship with Pete Peters and the Peters family as a whole.  He discusses Peters' relation to the Armenian community and how he supported Armenians both locally and abroad.

Creator

Reverend Dietzel
Mehas, Dr. Peter G.; Richter, Bud

Relation

Leon S. Peters Legacy Collection

Coverage

Fresno, California

Date

6/5/2009

Format

Microsoft word 2003 document, 9 pages

Identifier

SCMS_lspl_00032

extracted text

>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [inaudible] You knew Leon S. Peters in many, many different
ways, not only as his spiritual leader. So, we were so honored that you would be
willing to make some comments about the life of Leon S. Peters. How did you meet
Leon and tell us about your relationship with him.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Well, I knew Leon before meeting him in the sense he helped the
Armenian Missionary Association. And as his name came, people would say he's a good
philanthropist. Let's reach him and talk with him about the need of Armenia and the
need of the Armenian children. So, I knew that there was Leon Peters in Fresno. When
I came, I looked for him and I found him here. It was in 1978. And knowing that, I
used to visit him off and on. And, we got to be quite friendly together. And I
remember once when he was sick, I was visiting, the nurse said, no, Leon is very,
very tired and he doesn't want to see anyone. He says, is it the pastor? She said,
then I don't want any pastor to be out. When he comes to visit me, let him come in.
So, I went in and we chatted and I remember him. Then, he spoke about giving and so
forth. He says, you know, I've been brought up in this valley. Whatever we have, we
owe it to the valley. Therefore, my main concern is the valley. If I can help it in
any way, I'll help the valley. But, he says, I do my good work also amongst others
and Armenian Missionary Association and so forth. That was that I remember.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: What about his -- what about his faith? You know, we all know
that he was an outstanding community leader, a philanthropist and -[inaudible].
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: We all know about Leon S. Peters being a very successful
businessman, community philanthropist, but he also was a man of faith.
>>Rev. Deitzel: He was a man of faith. He used to go to the Congregational Church,
not the Armenian, the American Congregational Church. And he was very much a purist
in his mind. The pastor there, I think his name was Dr. Gray. I don't -- just he
mentioned once. It comes to my mind that it's Dr. Gray having the -- was it? Was
there anyone as Dr. Gray?
>>Bud Richter: Gregg.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Gregg, was it? I don't, you know, because I wasn't here then.
Anyway, he would say that I used to go quite regularly to the Congregational Church.
And when the pastor wanted to be a mayor and he was a candidate to be a mayor, he
says, I stopped going. He had to stick to his calling. He says, I went to him and
told him, you know, we have a higher calling than being a mayor. And you are such a
helpful person. Why do you want to be a mayor? And though he candidated himself, he
lost. The mayor lost. I mean, the pastor lost. And he had to leave. Then I don't
know what happened. He died, he says, shortly after. So, he was a purist in his mind
that a preacher has to stick to his preaching.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: How did Leon approach knowing when he was ill ->>Rev. Deitzel: Yeah.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: In the last days of his life, how did he approach the fact
that he knew that it was towards the end?
>>Rev. Deitzel: You know, he would always mention that he has to face his, you know,
Lord one day. And that was prevalent in his talking. And then he would say, I did my
best to help my fellow men and pray. And his faith was very, very clear to him. But
after that incident, it seems that his affiliation with the church wasn't as strong

as it was before. But he had a strong faith. He had a very -- how shall I say? He
responded to his faith by work.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: His faith was shown by the life that he led.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Yes. And also, because of his faith, his services were prompted by
his faith. Do to others, you know, type of faith that he had.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: The -- many of us are very familiar with how many of the
Armenians, and in that case, some of the Greeks left their homeland ->>Rev. Deitzel: Yes.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: -- because of the Turkish Armenian genocide. And I know that,
on occasion, I would ask Mr. Peters about this. His family, they left Armenia
because of the genocide. Had you ever had an occasion to talk with him about this or
the fact that how that impacted his life? The fact that he came to this country
because his people were being massacred?
>>Rev. Deitzel: Even then, I don't remember too much, because of the facts. And so
many years are past.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Certainly.
>>Rev. Deitzel: And also, I bet with so many people, you know, I talked, they have
talked. I mix sometimes, who said what.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Certainly.
>>Rev. Deitzel: And, but he was -- the impact was great.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: It was great.
>>Rev. Deitzel: There isn't any Armenian who has passed and it hasn't had an impact
on him, the massacres and the Armenians leaving their fatherland and properties and
so forth. It has had an indelible impact on them. And their memory is filled with
it.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: I believe there was a missionary in San Francisco that
encouraged his family to move. That's how it -- essentially, if I recall correctly,
that there were missionaries in San Francisco that said, advise the family, you
better get out before it becomes too late.
>>Rev. Deitzel: That's a possibility, yes.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yes, as they went through. What are your fondest recollections
of Leon, from what you can remember about interacting with him, about his
relationship with his family, about his relationship? As you pointed out, he was a
giver and he lived his faith by modeling his belief.
>>Rev. Deitzel: One thing that I saw in him was his family, cousins, nephews. And
they were very dear to him. Because he had no children of his own, he had
compensated it through his love to his brother's children and all those who were
around, even to his sister's children, too. And therefore, his love to his own was
great and it had grown generalized to others also, so that he has done quite a bit.
We have Haigazian University, where he has a Leon Peters Laboratory there. And
besides, of course, Fresno being his own town. He says, I have to do whatever I can

to Fresno because we have, you know, earned our money and our work here. So, we have
an obligation to this city.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: So, his philanthropy spread not only in Fresno ->>Rev. Deitzel: Yes.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: But to other places as well.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Absolutely.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: The spirit of giving.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Yes.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: His giving. What about his brother Pete. Did you get to
interact with -- Pete was the youngster of the family.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Yes.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Did you get a chance to interact with Pete?
>>Rev. Deitzel: You know ->>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: And the family?
>>Rev. Deitzel: Yes. When their mother died, the father became the image of mother
and father to them. And therefore, they have a lot of respect to their father. And
even Peter speaks -- you don't have 10 minutes, you know that the father comes into
his conversation. And also, he has a strong family feelings, emotional attachment,
to his cousins and nephews. On Sunday it was his, I think 92nd birthday. I was
invited. I went there. All his brothers' families were there and then their
children, grandchildren. There were around 40, 45 of them there. And he was very
much elated by their presence.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: He talks about how God has blessed him with longevity in his
life. Every time we've talked to him, he says, I'm blessed that God has given me a
long life.
>>Rev. Deitzel: He--very grateful, very grateful. And he has already -- he has given
to me his funeral, how it's going to be held, who is going to speak and where is it
going to be held. Already there, I don't know why. All of a sudden he brought this
up. He gave me an envelope. He says, Bud, will you take care of my funeral? And I
said I'll take care of it.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: He has a sense of order, isn't he?
>>Rev. Deitzel: Yes.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: That's sort of the engineering with him that we found out how
important he was to Valley Foundry and how a lot of the technical stuff ->>Rev. Deitzel: Yes.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Pete was the one that was responsible.

>>Rev. Deitzel: Even yes, for Mr. Kaprelian who has this new -- he's developing a
new kind of lemon without seeds. And therefore, he has done -- a long time his work
free of charge -- how to have automatic way of fighting the frost and so that the
water would go when frost comes and so forth. He was very, very helpful.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well, many people, of course, you know, know the Peters family
for Valley Foundry, but the roots was in farming. That's how they got the father,
Pete and everybody with that farming background. So, they have very, very much
appreciation of the importance of agriculture here in the valley.
>>Rev. Deitzel: That's right, that's right.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yeah, very, very much so. Bud, are there some questions that
you would ->>Bud Richter: I think you're doing wonderfully.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yes, thank you.
>>Bud Richter: And in sharing. But you have insights ->>Unknown speaker: Let me interrupt.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yeah?
>>Unknown speaker: Answer your question to Dr. Mehas.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Okay, yeah.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Okay, sure.
Unknown speaker: Even though he's asking it. Just so it looks okay.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Okay.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Go ahead, Bud.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Go ahead->>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: You were going to ask a question, but that's okay. You can
look at me while Bud asks the questions.
>>Rev. Deitzel: I'm listening.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Bud, you were going to ask a question? I'm sorry.
>>Bud Richter: You had opportunity to see some basic values that Leon demonstrated
as he looked towards his terminal illness. And you were with him and with Alice and
with Pete a number of times. Did you see any particular qualities in Leon in your
times with him and those times with his family in those last days that -- you see
strengths that would be good that the rest of us could see as strengths of a quality
community leader?
>>Rev. Deitzel: Yeah, his, as I said, his good works came out of his faith. And for
that reason, it was faith-inspired. And then he was highly ethical. His yes was yes,
no was no. And those who saw him and who befriended him, they knew that he could
understand lies, cheating. They had to be very, very direct and very ethical with

him. And that I found early as my friendship was there. And he didn't want to -also, there was one thing about his good work -- he didn't want to divest too much
of what he was going to give, except for certain causes.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Mm-hmm.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Because there was so much I remember. He used to read through so
many letters that he has to help this, he has to help that, or could he help this?
But he was very definite in some areas. He said, I am doing my share. And he -- it
was the first place in his good works came to Fresno and the area, and then to
others. And the Armenians were not overlooked. The four churches that we have
received every year a certain sum, at this time of the year.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well, his reputation, and I'm sure that many people would come
to him, and say we want this, we want that. And so he had some difficult -difficult decisions to prioritize.
>>Rev. Deitzel: That's right, that's right.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: And particularly with the Armenian community, because
everybody wanted to make sure that their faith was recognized.
>>Rev. Deitzel: That's right. For example, I was in New Jersey. I heard about him
and so -- and then that they would say, now, did Mr. -- did we approach Mr. Peters
or not? And so, when I came here, I looked for him, and I found him. And he was good
in that way.
[Background sound of siren]
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Sort of in summary ->>Unknown speaker: Let's wait for that siren to go by.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Okay, wait for it to go by.
>>Unknown speaker: Sorry about that. Now it's going to -- [Laughs].
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: That's okay. Thanks. That's a good one to close on.
>>Bud Richter: Should we, should we have him tell us a little bit about himself and
where he comes from ->>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Okay.
>>Bud Richter: So that they see the basis of his perception and ->>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Okay, sure.
>>Bud Richter: And understanding of Leon, his background.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Good, that'll be good.
>>Bud Richter: Okay, because people may not ->>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Right.
>>Bud Richter: They might not know these values.

>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yeah. Father, if you could sort of tell us a little bit just
about you and how you came to Fresno. And then, as you pointed out, how you had
heard of Leon even when you were in New Jersey. So, if you can just briefly tell us
a little bit about yourself.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Okay. If it's for--. You know, I was born in Turkey, Antioch,
Turkey.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Antioch?
>>Rev. Deitzel: Yes. And in 1939, the French and the English, the Allies, gave our
area, the county of Hatay [inaudible] they say, the Hittite section ->>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yes.
>>Rev. Deitzel: -- to the Turks. So, we came out of there and we came to Beirut,
Lebanon.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Lebanon?
>>Rev. Deitzel: Yes. And there I started in American missionary schools and American
University of Beirut and I came to the United States to complete my seminary
education, graduate work. And then I went back to Alexandria, Egypt. And I stayed
there for two years. Then I had an invitation to come to United States, so I came
here to New Jersey. And, as we know, the Armenians have a lot of needs. So they look
for those who are philanthropists and those who have.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Successful.
>>Rev. Deitzel: So, every group approaches them and approaches him, and them, all
those who give.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Sure.
>>Rev. Deitzel: And therefore, he had made a definite study whom to help and whom
not to help. And those whom he helped were those who were really doing good work.
And that's why he's -- you know, he was a man who was looked after if there was
something to be done and to be given. Yes. His generosity was well known.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: When you mentioned the American University at Beirut, that's a
beautiful university. I visited there.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Oh, you did visit?
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yes.
>>Rev. Deitzel: That's beautiful, yes.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: It's beautiful, beautiful. Of course, this was way before all
the conflict.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Oh, yes.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: But, so you went there. And that's --

>>Rev. Deitzel: Oh, yes. I studied there for five years. And last time, when I
wanted to go, the Palestinians had taken over. I couldn't go. They didn't allow
anyone who was American to go in.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Mm-hmm. If we were to, you know, try to tell, as we want to
do, the story to the people of the Fresno community, whether it's the Armenian
community or to all the Odars if we were to tell them all, what would probably be
the single most important thing that we should tell them about Leon S. Peters, in
your opinion?
>>Rev. Deitzel: Yes, I didn't mention. He had always told me about his venture with
pumps. He, you know, he wanted to -- he became a salesman, pump salesman.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yes.
>>Rev. Deitzel: And he was so successful, that at the end he bought the company. And
therefore, I would say that even -- and he didn't have time to go into college even,
you know, at that time. But, he made a success because he was so very true to the
work that he was doing. He was committed. And being as ethical as he was, the one
who was doing the pumps, were making the pump, manufacturing the pumps, at the end
said, Peter, why don't you get this -- or Leon, why don't you get this company? And
eventually, of course, he owned it. He had his own.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well, all of our lives certainly have been blessed because of
the life of Leon S. Peters and Pete Peters and the family.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Right.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: And certainly, your relationship with him was something very,
very, very special.
>>Rev. Deitzel: It was meaningful to me. I don't know whether it was -- it seems it
was meaningful to him or not. I don't know. That's ->>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: It certainly was.
>>Rev. Deitzel: -- his side. My side, he was meaningful to me. And we trusted him.
And everyone respected him. And what else can I tell about him that will be good is
that he became a role model to the Armenians.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Mm-hmm.
>>Rev. Deitzel: And all churches, all the people that I know respected him and
trusted him, knowing that there was him. And, at the same time, his name came over
and over of the minorities were not accepted, especially the Jews and the Armenians
were not accepted, so, where there aren't. And Leon saw that Sunnyside, you know,
would accept the Armenians as members also. And he did succeed in it, you know?
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: It was discrimination ->>Rev. Deitzel: There was discrimination, yeah.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: And a lot of Armenians at Sunnyside Country Club.
>>Rev. Deitzel: That's right. So now, there are so many of them over there.

>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: And he prevailed by modeling rather than preaching. He -- the
life that he led, people respected him and that's how he opened the door for many,
many other people.
>>Rev. Deitzel: That's right.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: As a [inaudible].
>>Rev. Deitzel: So that comes again and again in our conversation with some people
who feel that once we were discriminated, now we are accepted.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yes. He was one of the pioneers in that. You mentioned earlier
about his ethics in business and that his word was his word. Isn't it interesting,
recently Harvard University required its -- all of its business major graduates to
take a pledge to be ethical and to be -- and so Leon was way, way ahead of his time
in terms of fairness, but in terms living by his word. And I find it fascinating now
that Harvard is now coming on board and saying maybe it's not just enough to be a
successful businessman, but to be an honest and ethical businessman.
>>Rev. Deitzel: And I think Brown University did the same.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Oh, yes.
>>Rev. Deitzel: And I hear Yale is ->>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yale is doing the same as well.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Yes. Because we found out that, you know, with this Madoff, Israel
and others, you know, our whole structure, substructure depends on honesty and on
truth.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Certainly.
>>Rev. Deitzel: And therefore, if you don't we lose our substructure, which makes us
to stand on our name as United States and so forth. And therefore he was, you know,
one of the ones who believed in it.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well, as you would say, Father, in our faith, what good does
it do for a man to gain the world and lose his soul.
>>Rev. Deitzel: That's right.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: And Leon clearly understood the value of being honest and yet
being a successful business person.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Which is true. And also, you know, coming out of poverty, with hard
work, he would really make others to see that. Really, through hard work, they would
succeed. God will help them. You know, many people come to me as a pastor and many
Armenians have come into the valley. And I give them as an example, I say look, this
man sold pumps. He was the greatest, one of the great philanthropists. And I point
come here to ask you, so you go and see his name, and so forth. And he became a
model. And I say, look, if you give, you shall be given. And then don't go into
short-term successes, gains by, cheating others and so forth. Be true to yourself
and to God and you will see what will happen to you in this valley.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: That's excellent, isn't it?
>>Bud Richter: Oh, man. We're getting -- yeah. That is so good.

>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: And, you know, that's -- Father, that is great testimony to
Leon S. Peters and we thank you ever so much for passing on these very, very special
moments in the life of Leon S. Peters.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Thank you.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Thank you and God bless you.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Thank you. Also, do you know that he has an autobiographical type of
a ->>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yes.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Writing. You know that?
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yes.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Oh, yes. I want to do that, too. You know, one day to be published
so that we can really look at this man, his inner working and so forth.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well, that's why, thanks to California State University,
Fresno, and the archivists that all of these things will be compiled together for
future generations.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Good.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: And thanks to Mr. Richter spearheading this to make sure that
we get this for future generations. Because his life really is a model for all of us
to look after as we go forth. So, Father, thank you ever so much. God bless.
Appreciate it, Father.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Thank you.
==== Transcribed by Automatic Sync Technologies ====
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: [inaudible] You knew Leon S. Peters in many, many different
ways, not only as his spiritual leader. So, we were so honored that you would be
willing to make some comments about the life of Leon S. Peters. How did you meet
Leon and tell us about your relationship with him.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Well, I knew Leon before meeting him in the sense he helped the
Armenian Missionary Association. And as his name came, people would say he's a good
philanthropist. Let's reach him and talk with him about the need of Armenia and the
need of the Armenian children. So, I knew that there was Leon Peters in Fresno. When
I came, I looked for him and I found him here. It was in 1978. And knowing that, I
used to visit him off and on. And, we got to be quite friendly together. And I
remember once when he was sick, I was visiting, the nurse said, no, Leon is very,
very tired and he doesn't want to see anyone. He says, is it the pastor? She said,
then I don't want any pastor to be out. When he comes to visit me, let him come in.
So, I went in and we chatted and I remember him. Then, he spoke about giving and so
forth. He says, you know, I've been brought up in this valley. Whatever we have, we
owe it to the valley. Therefore, my main concern is the valley. If I can help it in
any way, I'll help the valley. But, he says, I do my good work also amongst others
and Armenian Missionary Association and so forth. That was that I remember.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: What about his -- what about his faith? You know, we all know
that he was an outstanding community leader, a philanthropist and -[inaudible].
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: We all know about Leon S. Peters being a very successful
businessman, community philanthropist, but he also was a man of faith.
>>Rev. Deitzel: He was a man of faith. He used to go to the Congregational Church,
not the Armenian, the American Congregational Church. And he was very much a purist
in his mind. The pastor there, I think his name was Dr. Gray. I don't -- just he
mentioned once. It comes to my mind that it's Dr. Gray having the -- was it? Was
there anyone as Dr. Gray?
>>Bud Richter: Gregg.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Gregg, was it? I don't, you know, because I wasn't here then.
Anyway, he would say that I used to go quite regularly to the Congregational Church.
And when the pastor wanted to be a mayor and he was a candidate to be a mayor, he
says, I stopped going. He had to stick to his calling. He says, I went to him and
told him, you know, we have a higher calling than being a mayor. And you are such a
helpful person. Why do you want to be a mayor? And though he candidated himself, he
lost. The mayor lost. I mean, the pastor lost. And he had to leave. Then I don't
know what happened. He died, he says, shortly after. So, he was a purist in his mind
that a preacher has to stick to his preaching.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: How did Leon approach knowing when he was ill ->>Rev. Deitzel: Yeah.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: In the last days of his life, how did he approach the fact
that he knew that it was towards the end?
>>Rev. Deitzel: You know, he would always mention that he has to face his, you know,
Lord one day. And that was prevalent in his talking. And then he would say, I did my
best to help my fellow men and pray. And his faith was very, very clear to him. But
after that incident, it seems that his affiliation with the church wasn't as strong

as it was before. But he had a strong faith. He had a very -- how shall I say? He
responded to his faith by work.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: His faith was shown by the life that he led.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Yes. And also, because of his faith, his services were prompted by
his faith. Do to others, you know, type of faith that he had.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: The -- many of us are very familiar with how many of the
Armenians, and in that case, some of the Greeks left their homeland ->>Rev. Deitzel: Yes.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: -- because of the Turkish Armenian genocide. And I know that,
on occasion, I would ask Mr. Peters about this. His family, they left Armenia
because of the genocide. Had you ever had an occasion to talk with him about this or
the fact that how that impacted his life? The fact that he came to this country
because his people were being massacred?
>>Rev. Deitzel: Even then, I don't remember too much, because of the facts. And so
many years are past.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Certainly.
>>Rev. Deitzel: And also, I bet with so many people, you know, I talked, they have
talked. I mix sometimes, who said what.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Certainly.
>>Rev. Deitzel: And, but he was -- the impact was great.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: It was great.
>>Rev. Deitzel: There isn't any Armenian who has passed and it hasn't had an impact
on him, the massacres and the Armenians leaving their fatherland and properties and
so forth. It has had an indelible impact on them. And their memory is filled with
it.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: I believe there was a missionary in San Francisco that
encouraged his family to move. That's how it -- essentially, if I recall correctly,
that there were missionaries in San Francisco that said, advise the family, you
better get out before it becomes too late.
>>Rev. Deitzel: That's a possibility, yes.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yes, as they went through. What are your fondest recollections
of Leon, from what you can remember about interacting with him, about his
relationship with his family, about his relationship? As you pointed out, he was a
giver and he lived his faith by modeling his belief.
>>Rev. Deitzel: One thing that I saw in him was his family, cousins, nephews. And
they were very dear to him. Because he had no children of his own, he had
compensated it through his love to his brother's children and all those who were
around, even to his sister's children, too. And therefore, his love to his own was
great and it had grown generalized to others also, so that he has done quite a bit.
We have Haigazian University, where he has a Leon Peters Laboratory there. And
besides, of course, Fresno being his own town. He says, I have to do whatever I can

to Fresno because we have, you know, earned our money and our work here. So, we have
an obligation to this city.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: So, his philanthropy spread not only in Fresno ->>Rev. Deitzel: Yes.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: But to other places as well.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Absolutely.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: The spirit of giving.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Yes.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: His giving. What about his brother Pete. Did you get to
interact with -- Pete was the youngster of the family.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Yes.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Did you get a chance to interact with Pete?
>>Rev. Deitzel: You know ->>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: And the family?
>>Rev. Deitzel: Yes. When their mother died, the father became the image of mother
and father to them. And therefore, they have a lot of respect to their father. And
even Peter speaks -- you don't have 10 minutes, you know that the father comes into
his conversation. And also, he has a strong family feelings, emotional attachment,
to his cousins and nephews. On Sunday it was his, I think 92nd birthday. I was
invited. I went there. All his brothers' families were there and then their
children, grandchildren. There were around 40, 45 of them there. And he was very
much elated by their presence.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: He talks about how God has blessed him with longevity in his
life. Every time we've talked to him, he says, I'm blessed that God has given me a
long life.
>>Rev. Deitzel: He--very grateful, very grateful. And he has already -- he has given
to me his funeral, how it's going to be held, who is going to speak and where is it
going to be held. Already there, I don't know why. All of a sudden he brought this
up. He gave me an envelope. He says, Bud, will you take care of my funeral? And I
said I'll take care of it.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: He has a sense of order, isn't he?
>>Rev. Deitzel: Yes.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: That's sort of the engineering with him that we found out how
important he was to Valley Foundry and how a lot of the technical stuff ->>Rev. Deitzel: Yes.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Pete was the one that was responsible.

>>Rev. Deitzel: Even yes, for Mr. Kaprelian who has this new -- he's developing a
new kind of lemon without seeds. And therefore, he has done -- a long time his work
free of charge -- how to have automatic way of fighting the frost and so that the
water would go when frost comes and so forth. He was very, very helpful.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well, many people, of course, you know, know the Peters family
for Valley Foundry, but the roots was in farming. That's how they got the father,
Pete and everybody with that farming background. So, they have very, very much
appreciation of the importance of agriculture here in the valley.
>>Rev. Deitzel: That's right, that's right.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yeah, very, very much so. Bud, are there some questions that
you would ->>Bud Richter: I think you're doing wonderfully.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yes, thank you.
>>Bud Richter: And in sharing. But you have insights ->>Unknown speaker: Let me interrupt.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yeah?
>>Unknown speaker: Answer your question to Dr. Mehas.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Okay, yeah.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Okay, sure.
Unknown speaker: Even though he's asking it. Just so it looks okay.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Okay.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Go ahead, Bud.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Go ahead->>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: You were going to ask a question, but that's okay. You can
look at me while Bud asks the questions.
>>Rev. Deitzel: I'm listening.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Bud, you were going to ask a question? I'm sorry.
>>Bud Richter: You had opportunity to see some basic values that Leon demonstrated
as he looked towards his terminal illness. And you were with him and with Alice and
with Pete a number of times. Did you see any particular qualities in Leon in your
times with him and those times with his family in those last days that -- you see
strengths that would be good that the rest of us could see as strengths of a quality
community leader?
>>Rev. Deitzel: Yeah, his, as I said, his good works came out of his faith. And for
that reason, it was faith-inspired. And then he was highly ethical. His yes was yes,
no was no. And those who saw him and who befriended him, they knew that he could
understand lies, cheating. They had to be very, very direct and very ethical with

him. And that I found early as my friendship was there. And he didn't want to -also, there was one thing about his good work -- he didn't want to divest too much
of what he was going to give, except for certain causes.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Mm-hmm.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Because there was so much I remember. He used to read through so
many letters that he has to help this, he has to help that, or could he help this?
But he was very definite in some areas. He said, I am doing my share. And he -- it
was the first place in his good works came to Fresno and the area, and then to
others. And the Armenians were not overlooked. The four churches that we have
received every year a certain sum, at this time of the year.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well, his reputation, and I'm sure that many people would come
to him, and say we want this, we want that. And so he had some difficult -difficult decisions to prioritize.
>>Rev. Deitzel: That's right, that's right.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: And particularly with the Armenian community, because
everybody wanted to make sure that their faith was recognized.
>>Rev. Deitzel: That's right. For example, I was in New Jersey. I heard about him
and so -- and then that they would say, now, did Mr. -- did we approach Mr. Peters
or not? And so, when I came here, I looked for him, and I found him. And he was good
in that way.
[Background sound of siren]
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Sort of in summary ->>Unknown speaker: Let's wait for that siren to go by.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Okay, wait for it to go by.
>>Unknown speaker: Sorry about that. Now it's going to -- [Laughs].
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: That's okay. Thanks. That's a good one to close on.
>>Bud Richter: Should we, should we have him tell us a little bit about himself and
where he comes from ->>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Okay.
>>Bud Richter: So that they see the basis of his perception and ->>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Okay, sure.
>>Bud Richter: And understanding of Leon, his background.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Good, that'll be good.
>>Bud Richter: Okay, because people may not ->>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Right.
>>Bud Richter: They might not know these values.

>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yeah. Father, if you could sort of tell us a little bit just
about you and how you came to Fresno. And then, as you pointed out, how you had
heard of Leon even when you were in New Jersey. So, if you can just briefly tell us
a little bit about yourself.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Okay. If it's for--. You know, I was born in Turkey, Antioch,
Turkey.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Antioch?
>>Rev. Deitzel: Yes. And in 1939, the French and the English, the Allies, gave our
area, the county of Hatay [inaudible] they say, the Hittite section ->>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yes.
>>Rev. Deitzel: -- to the Turks. So, we came out of there and we came to Beirut,
Lebanon.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Lebanon?
>>Rev. Deitzel: Yes. And there I started in American missionary schools and American
University of Beirut and I came to the United States to complete my seminary
education, graduate work. And then I went back to Alexandria, Egypt. And I stayed
there for two years. Then I had an invitation to come to United States, so I came
here to New Jersey. And, as we know, the Armenians have a lot of needs. So they look
for those who are philanthropists and those who have.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Successful.
>>Rev. Deitzel: So, every group approaches them and approaches him, and them, all
those who give.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Sure.
>>Rev. Deitzel: And therefore, he had made a definite study whom to help and whom
not to help. And those whom he helped were those who were really doing good work.
And that's why he's -- you know, he was a man who was looked after if there was
something to be done and to be given. Yes. His generosity was well known.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: When you mentioned the American University at Beirut, that's a
beautiful university. I visited there.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Oh, you did visit?
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yes.
>>Rev. Deitzel: That's beautiful, yes.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: It's beautiful, beautiful. Of course, this was way before all
the conflict.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Oh, yes.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: But, so you went there. And that's --

>>Rev. Deitzel: Oh, yes. I studied there for five years. And last time, when I
wanted to go, the Palestinians had taken over. I couldn't go. They didn't allow
anyone who was American to go in.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Mm-hmm. If we were to, you know, try to tell, as we want to
do, the story to the people of the Fresno community, whether it's the Armenian
community or to all the Odars if we were to tell them all, what would probably be
the single most important thing that we should tell them about Leon S. Peters, in
your opinion?
>>Rev. Deitzel: Yes, I didn't mention. He had always told me about his venture with
pumps. He, you know, he wanted to -- he became a salesman, pump salesman.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yes.
>>Rev. Deitzel: And he was so successful, that at the end he bought the company. And
therefore, I would say that even -- and he didn't have time to go into college even,
you know, at that time. But, he made a success because he was so very true to the
work that he was doing. He was committed. And being as ethical as he was, the one
who was doing the pumps, were making the pump, manufacturing the pumps, at the end
said, Peter, why don't you get this -- or Leon, why don't you get this company? And
eventually, of course, he owned it. He had his own.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well, all of our lives certainly have been blessed because of
the life of Leon S. Peters and Pete Peters and the family.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Right.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: And certainly, your relationship with him was something very,
very, very special.
>>Rev. Deitzel: It was meaningful to me. I don't know whether it was -- it seems it
was meaningful to him or not. I don't know. That's ->>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: It certainly was.
>>Rev. Deitzel: -- his side. My side, he was meaningful to me. And we trusted him.
And everyone respected him. And what else can I tell about him that will be good is
that he became a role model to the Armenians.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Mm-hmm.
>>Rev. Deitzel: And all churches, all the people that I know respected him and
trusted him, knowing that there was him. And, at the same time, his name came over
and over of the minorities were not accepted, especially the Jews and the Armenians
were not accepted, so, where there aren't. And Leon saw that Sunnyside, you know,
would accept the Armenians as members also. And he did succeed in it, you know?
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: It was discrimination ->>Rev. Deitzel: There was discrimination, yeah.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: And a lot of Armenians at Sunnyside Country Club.
>>Rev. Deitzel: That's right. So now, there are so many of them over there.

>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: And he prevailed by modeling rather than preaching. He -- the
life that he led, people respected him and that's how he opened the door for many,
many other people.
>>Rev. Deitzel: That's right.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: As a [inaudible].
>>Rev. Deitzel: So that comes again and again in our conversation with some people
who feel that once we were discriminated, now we are accepted.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yes. He was one of the pioneers in that. You mentioned earlier
about his ethics in business and that his word was his word. Isn't it interesting,
recently Harvard University required its -- all of its business major graduates to
take a pledge to be ethical and to be -- and so Leon was way, way ahead of his time
in terms of fairness, but in terms living by his word. And I find it fascinating now
that Harvard is now coming on board and saying maybe it's not just enough to be a
successful businessman, but to be an honest and ethical businessman.
>>Rev. Deitzel: And I think Brown University did the same.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Oh, yes.
>>Rev. Deitzel: And I hear Yale is ->>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yale is doing the same as well.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Yes. Because we found out that, you know, with this Madoff, Israel
and others, you know, our whole structure, substructure depends on honesty and on
truth.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Certainly.
>>Rev. Deitzel: And therefore, if you don't we lose our substructure, which makes us
to stand on our name as United States and so forth. And therefore he was, you know,
one of the ones who believed in it.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well, as you would say, Father, in our faith, what good does
it do for a man to gain the world and lose his soul.
>>Rev. Deitzel: That's right.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: And Leon clearly understood the value of being honest and yet
being a successful business person.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Which is true. And also, you know, coming out of poverty, with hard
work, he would really make others to see that. Really, through hard work, they would
succeed. God will help them. You know, many people come to me as a pastor and many
Armenians have come into the valley. And I give them as an example, I say look, this
man sold pumps. He was the greatest, one of the great philanthropists. And I point
come here to ask you, so you go and see his name, and so forth. And he became a
model. And I say, look, if you give, you shall be given. And then don't go into
short-term successes, gains by, cheating others and so forth. Be true to yourself
and to God and you will see what will happen to you in this valley.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: That's excellent, isn't it?
>>Bud Richter: Oh, man. We're getting -- yeah. That is so good.

>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: And, you know, that's -- Father, that is great testimony to
Leon S. Peters and we thank you ever so much for passing on these very, very special
moments in the life of Leon S. Peters.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Thank you.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Thank you and God bless you.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Thank you. Also, do you know that he has an autobiographical type of
a ->>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yes.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Writing. You know that?
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Yes.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Oh, yes. I want to do that, too. You know, one day to be published
so that we can really look at this man, his inner working and so forth.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: Well, that's why, thanks to California State University,
Fresno, and the archivists that all of these things will be compiled together for
future generations.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Good.
>>Dr. Peter G. Mehas: And thanks to Mr. Richter spearheading this to make sure that
we get this for future generations. Because his life really is a model for all of us
to look after as we go forth. So, Father, thank you ever so much. God bless.
Appreciate it, Father.
>>Rev. Deitzel: Thank you.
==== Transcribed by Automatic Sync Technologies ====

Item sets

Leon S. Peters Legacy Set