![\"\"](\"https:\/\/theivanhoesol.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/IMG_8830-rotated.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Francisca Ramirez has lived in Ivanhoe since 1984 and raised five children here.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n By Esmeralda Garcia, Ivanhoe Sol<\/em><\/p>\n This month\u2019s community spotlight is Francisca Ramirez. Her neighbor, Sonia, nominated Francisca and says, \u201cI have always seen her as an incredible neighbor who never wished to be acknowledged though she did and does so much.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Francisca Ramirez was born in San Julian, Jalisco, Mexico and is one of three children. She grew up in a small community where there was no school. Luckily she had an older cousin who was a teacher and she was able to learn a little reading and writing. Later in life, Francisca married her husband and eight days later crossed into the U.S. They first arrived in Kingsburg and then moved to Ivanhoe in 1984.<\/span><\/p>\n When President Ronald Reagan signed the Amnesty Act in 1986, Francisca was able to apply for residency and search for work. Her first job while living in Ivanhoe was as a seamstress for the Bayly Corporation in Visalia, a men\u2019s clothing manufacturer. She later worked at Phillips Farms outside of Ivanhoe where she packed peaches and plums. That packing experience ultimately led her to Klink Citrus, where she worked for 27 years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n