Clovis Way of Life: Women of Clovis

Left to right: Deborah Ikeda, Peg Bos, Cora Shipley, and Lynne Ashbeck. (Photos contributed)

Many women have overcome boundaries to help make Clovis the family-friendly town it is today. Some can say, it’s the Clovis way of life. For Women’s History Month, let’s look back at some of the most influential women in Clovis history.

Peg Bos

Peg Bos herself is one of the most influential women in Clovis History. She spent most of her life breaking boundaries, as she was the first woman elected to the Clovis City Council, the first woman to serve as mayor, the first woman to serve on the planning commission and the first woman to receive the Citizen of the Year award from the Clovis Hall of Fame

Her parents settled in Clovis in 1903, before the town was even officially incorporated in 1912.

“Clovis was a family town where everyone knew each other. It was safe and friendly,” Bos said of growing up in Clovis.

In 1984, Bos was the first woman elected mayor of Clovis. The Gateway to the Sierras saw major growth and advancement under her leadership, including the revitalization of Old Town.

Besides documenting Clovis’s history at the Big Dry Creek Museum, Bos also contributes to the Roundup for its “Let’s Talk Clovis” segment.

Judith Preuss 

Judith Preuss is another woman who helped shaped Clovis. Preuss served as vice president of the Chamber of Commerce for 19 years. In 1995 she received the Clovis Professional Business Woman of the Year Award.

At the beginning of her career with the Chamber, Pruess helped turn Big Hat Days into the commercial success that it is today.

“In 1983, the Chamber of Commerce changed (Big Hat Days) to a craft fair at the rodeo grounds, and they had so many people and it caused so much congestion on Clovis Avenue, the police department told them they could not have it there anymore,” Pruess recalled. “They went to the city and they got permission to have it on Pollasky. It just grew from there.”

Preuss said if she had advice for younger women, it would be to make education their top priority.

Lynne Ashbeck

Lynne Ashbeck, former Clovis mayor, current mayor pro tem and Senior Vice President of Community Engagement and Population Wellness at Valley Children’s Healthcare, considers Bos a mentor and inspiration. She hopes to shape the future of Clovis in the same fashion her mentor did.

“What I think about shaping Clovis today is about honoring the traditions that got us here,” Ashbeck said. “Part of what I try to do is honor those traditions, values and expectations of our community over the last decade.”

That means making sure the choices the council makes now are the right ones for people 50 years in the future.

“We are enjoying today because of the decisions that were made 40 or 50 years ago and I think the future will be the same way,” Ashbeck said.

Deborah Ikeda

Another woman who is shaping Clovis’ future is Deborah Ikeda. Similar to Ashbeck, Ikeda served on the board of one of the area’s local hospitals, St. Agnes Medical Center. Ikeda served as the hospital’s chair for nine years, but education is her passion.

Ikeda is one of Clovis’ most accomplished women in the educational field. She currently is the vice president of the State Center Community College District (SCCCD) and previously served as the president of Clovis Community College.

Originally from Chicago, Ikeda moved to Clovis in 1981 to take a job as the dean of counseling at Fresno City College. She planned to temporarily live in Clovis before moving to San Francisco or Los Angeles.

But after she met her husband, Ikeda fell in love with the Gateway to the Sierras.

“I was going to live in Central California for five years and then move but then I met my husband, who is from here,” Ikeda said. “We got married and this is a great place to raise a family so I’ve been here ever since and I’ve enjoyed it. For raising children, you can’t beat Clovis.”

Ikeda led the effort to turn Clovis Community into SCCCD’s third accredited city college. She is also responsible for making SCCCD schools free to attend for recent high school graduates.

She said many factors have led to her success but thanked her father for showing her the value of hard work and teaching her that she could do anything a boy could do.

“My father encouraged myself and my sister that there wasn’t anything my brothers could do that we couldn’t do,” she said.

Cora Shipley

When it comes to business, Cora Shipley, President of the Business Organization of Old Town Clovis, is leading the way.

Shipley owns several Old Town locations, including Ivy & Lace, Hearts Delight, and Scoops, Soups & More.

She said the Clovis Way of Life is her main philosophical approach to business.

“I try to have a business that will bring people into Old Town, treat them like family instead of customers, know their names and what they like,” Shipley said. “We welcome everybody.”

Shipley said her proudest contribution to Clovis is One Enchanted Evening, an open house event that takes place in Old Town before each Thanksgiving. The event draws in thousands of people each year and has become the Clovis tradition of kicking off the holiday season.

“It is a great event, it is totally free to the customers and is a thank you to them for supporting Old Town. We have carolers, carriage rides, it’s just wonderful,” Shipley said.

Shipley is also proud of the talented staff that she hired to run the Business Organization of Old Town (BOOT). She said she is especially proud of bringing on Carole Lester, who serves as BOOT’s executive director.

“Carole has been our best advocate and the best ambassador. She loves Old Town and she has been one of the best things for BOOT,” she said.

The women of Clovis’ past and present are paving the way for the next generation of women to lead Clovis down new and exciting paths in the future.

Ashbeck, Ikeda and Shipley offered advice for these future leaders.

“Do what you love. If you love your job, it is not a job. I look forward to going to work everyday. I look forward to seeing the people in town everyday,” Shipley said.

Ikeda said young women should not hold themselves back from pursuing what they are passionate about.

“I would encourage young women today, if they are married or have a spouse, that you are a family unit together and you can count on one another to help each other out. You don’t need to hold yourself back from applying for advancement in your career for those reasons,” Ikeda said.

Ashbeck lastly added that the key to success is finding mentors who can help you grow and succeed.

“Find people ahead of you on the path who can help you along the way,” Ashbeck said. “The mentors I had in my life helped me figure out that the obstacles in my life were not really obstacles, they were just things I had to move past. Learn as much as you can everyday.”

 

Ron Camacho was born and raised in Clovis. He attended Clovis High School and graduated from CSU Fresno in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications and Journalism. Before joining the Roundup, Ron wrote for Pollstar Magazine and the Sanger Herald. He has a deep appreciation for the arts and is a lover of music, cinema and storytelling. When he’s not busy looking for his next story, Ron enjoys taking weekend expeditions to the beach or mountains to practice landscape photography.