[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 88 (Monday, July 11, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 11, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
            THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DELAWARE STATE FAIR

  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, this month we are celebrating a proud and 
important occasion in my State, the 75th anniversary of the Delaware 
State Fair.
  I've had the pleasure and privilege of being an annual participant in 
the Delaware State Fair for more than 20 years, almost a third of its 
proud history. In that time, a lot has changed about our annual 
gathering in Harrington, with the fair's ever-increasing stature 
attracting more visitors and more entertainers of national and 
international renown each year.
  Yet the foundation of the Delaware State Fair has remained very much 
the same. It is a foundation that has been built and maintained by 
people whose extraordinary personal commitment has ensured not only the 
fair's endurance but its success and its meaning to our State. To give 
you an idea of the level of dedication I'm talking about, there have 
been just three fair managers during my 20-plus-years association with 
the event. And there are many others who make a similar commitment, 
year in and year out, and whose efforts make everyone else's enjoyment 
possible, from the staff, to the board of directors and 
superintendents, to the exhibit area and event volunteers.
  Organizations, too, like 4-H and Future Farmers of America, have made 
a sustained and defining contribution to the Delaware State Fair. Long 
before offering substance abuse prevention programs won a place among 
our national priorities long before there were seminars on how to 
combat the negative influences of today's world on our young citizens, 
such organizations were at work in our communities, and at the Delaware 
State Fair. The constancy and quality of their involvement have 
contributed not only to the fair's growth and appeal, but also to its 
value and character.
  I use words like ``character,'' ``value,'' and ``meaning'' in 
describing the Delaware State Fair, because this anniversary represents 
more than the 75th recurrence of a successful and enjoyable public 
event. It represents the endurance of a cherished spirit, a defining 
sense of community. We celebrate not only what the fair is, but also 
how it makes us feel.
  The State fair, is, truly, Delaware's annual reunion. It brings us 
together in celebration of the best that our State has to offer--the 
products of our farms, our homes, our community organizations, and our 
stores. It is a celebration of the talents, skills, and creativity of 
our citizens, a vibrant expression of why Delawareans have so much to 
be proud of.
  It is an occasion that renews our bond to one another not only as 
fellow citizens but as members of a true State family. After 75 years 
of growth and change, the Delaware State Fair remains a family-made, 
family-oriented event, centered around the values and relationships 
that matter most.
  It inspires a remarkable feeling of community--not a naive or simple 
or nostalgic diversion, but a genuine and lingering feeling of shared 
pride, shared purpose, and shared hope. In this annual gathering of 
family and friends, we not only enjoy ourselves, we rediscover 
ourselves, and we rediscover the promise of what a community of 
neighbors can be at its best.
  So as we in Delaware mark the 75th anniversary of our State fair, Mr. 
President, we celebrate the annual renewal of a spirit that deserves to 
be celebrated every day and in every community. And we do so with 
gratitude to the people who have kept that spirit at the foundation of 
the Delaware State Fair, and shared it with all of us, for so many 
years.

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