[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 94 (Tuesday, July 19, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                 TRIBUTE TO THE EASLEY-FAULKNER FAMILY

                                 ______


                        HON. LUCIEN E. BLACKWELL

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 19, 1994

  Mr. BLACKWELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and celebrate five 
generations who will gather from July 22 through July 24 in celebration 
of the Easley-Faulkner family very first reunion. This historic event 
will be held in Pittsburgh, PA. The two eldest members of the Easley-
Faulkner family are 96-year-old Annie Faulkner Weatherspoon and 90-
year-old Catherine Easley Middlebrooks.
  Mr. Speaker, two cornerstones of a successful and long-lasting family 
are faith and family values. It was once said, ``The only faith that 
wears well and holds its color in all weathers, is that which is woven 
of conviction and set with the sharp mordant of experience.'' Certainly 
a family that has remained intact, for five generations knows something 
of faith. And, family, one of nature's most brilliant masterpieces 
shines like the brilliance of the noonday sun. It is a well-known fact 
that the security and elevation of the family and of family life are 
the prime objects of civilization, and the ultimate ends of all 
industry.
  Mr. Speaker, I am convinced that the family is God's most essential 
unit in the community and society. For that reason, we must fight hard 
to preserve the family. Because, the destruction of family must also 
necessarily mean the destruction of our Nation. As an optimist, my 
conviction is reinforced when I behold the world's finest treasures in 
the family storehouse of the Easley-Faulkner family. Refined gold you 
will find in this family's laughter. And silver is evident in the 
graying hairs where they have been graced by wisdom's knowledge, 
discernment and judgment. The earth yields no sapphires or rubies so 
precious as that of a baby's smile when it sleeps or a child's 
unexpected affection and show of love. This is indeed a family.
  Mr. Speaker, the pleasures of life, both great and small are 
contained within the confines of the family structure. For these and 
other reasons, I honor the Easley-Faulkner family on the occasion of 
their first family reunion and pray that God may grant them many, many 
more.

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