[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 13 (Thursday, February 10, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 10, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
    ROBERT J. SWEET WAS BUSINESS LEADER AND PILLAR IN HIS COMMUNITY

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                        HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 10, 1994

  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, our area has lost one of its finest 
citizens, and I have lost a friend.
  Mr. Speaker, you don't replace someone like Robert J. Sweet of 
Diamond Point, NY. But you can cherish the memory of a man who gave so 
generously of his time and talent toward making his community a better 
place. Mr. Sweet passed away on February 5, after a lifetime of civic 
involvement and of dedication to the lumber industry, an important 
economic pillar in our area.
  In 1941, he founded the R.J. Sweet Lumber Co. in Warrensburg. In 
1986, he acquired the Great Eastern Lumber Co. and the North Creek 
Woodworking Plant. He was chairman of the board at the time of his 
death. In 1963, Mr. Sweet donated the tree that became the national 
Christmas tree in Washington.
  But Mr. Sweet's contributions did not end there. He was an active 
member and senior warden of the Saint Sacrament Episcopal Church in 
Bolton Landing, and served on the finance committee and as a trustee 
with the Albany Episcopal Diocese.
  Like others who have been involved in scouting, I had enormous 
respect for Mr. Sweet's own involvement, which included serving as 
district chairman of the Mohican Council Boy Scouts. He received the 
Silver Beaver Award, the highest honor given to adult counselors in 
Scouting.
  He also served as chairman of the board of directors of the Salvation 
Army in Glens Falls and was a board member of both the Warrensburg 4-H 
and the St. Francis Academy in Lake Placid.
  Mr. Sweet was a member of Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks 
Lodge 81 of Glens Falls, the Adirondack Lumberman's Association, and 
Warrensburg Lodge 425, Free and Accepted Masons, which gave him its 
Grand Master Service to Youth Award.
  And now, Mr. Speaker, I would like this House to pay its own tribute 
to an outstanding man, a man who had such a positive impact on the 
business, economic, religious, and civic life of his community. Please 
join me as I express my regret at the loss of Robert J. Sweet, and my 
profoundest condolences to Claire, his wife of 53 years, and to the 
rest of his family.

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