[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 29 (Wednesday, March 6, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S1547]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              MINNIE PEARL

  Mr. THOMPSON. Mr. President, I want to recognize the passing this 
week of a great entertainer and citizen, Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon. 
Mrs. Cannon, better known as Minnie Pearl, was a tribute to the 
entertainment industry and to our community. She graced the stage of 
the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN, with her animated humor for 51 
years. Who could forget the stories of Grinders Switch, her straw hat 
with the $1.98 price tag still attached, and her well-known and beloved 
``How-dee!''
  Minnie Pearl made many contributions off-stage as well. She was a 
humanitarian who contributed much to her community. Many of her efforts 
were focused on fighting cancer. In 1987, President Ronald Reagan 
presented Mrs. Cannon with the American Cancer Society's Courage Award. 
In 1991, the Sarah Cannon Cancer Center at Centennial Medical Center in 
Nashville was dedicated in her name. I know that I join all Tennesseans 
and all Americans in saying that Sarah Cannon and Minnie Pearl will be 
sadly missed.

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