[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 46 (Friday, March 29, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E514-E515]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       A TRIBUTE TO THE CITY OF COALINGA ON ITS 90TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______


                         HON. CALVIN M. DOOLEY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 29, 1996

  Mr. DOOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise before my colleagues today to 
recognize the city of Coalinga. On April 6, 1996, the city will 
celebrate its 90th anniversary, and I would like to honor the people of 
Coalinga by recounting a few of the highlights of the city's history.
  Coalinga came into existence as an oil and coal mining town in the 
late 1880s. At the base of the coastal mountain range on the west side 
of the San Joaquin Valley, the town started out as little more than a 
coaling station for the Southern Pacific Railroad line that connects 
Los Angeles and San Francisco. The name apparently derives from its 
designation as Coaling Station A.
  The mining of coal, and later oil, caused an economic boom at the 
turn of the century. By 1910, 4 years after the city incorporated, the 
Coalinga oil field was the largest in California. Oil continues to be 
one of the city's economic mainstays, along with agriculture.
  As a relatively isolated settlement, Coalinga survived the aftermath 
of the boom years by relying on a tight-knit community. This close 
cooperation among its citizens was used to establish a drinking water 
supply in an area beset by hard water, to establish city-operated 
natural gas utility in a rural community ignored by the corporate 
utilities, and to establish a school and a library. This little 
community also had a strong patriotic element--it was World War I 
veterans from Coalinga who started the push to establish the American 
Legion in California in 1919. Coalinga is the home to American Legion 
Post 2, designated as the ``Mother Post'' of the California American 
Legion.
  This sense of community was put to the test in 1983, when Coalinga 
was devastated by a 6.7 earthquake that leveled a significant portion 
of the business district and caused over $31 million in damages. There 
was open speculation that Coalinga would not survive this disaster.
  Instead of surrendering to this speculation, the citizens rolled up 
their sleeves and rebuilt. In fact, the earthquake served as a 
stimulator, with the town leaders using the rebuilding effort as an 
opportunity to develop a new revitalization plan. That plan has 
resulted in the

[[Page E515]]

placement of a State prison near Coalinga--a $36 million industry--the 
development of a 40-acre industrial park, and the building of an $8 
million airport facility.
  I am certain Coalinga will continue to persevere and to prosper into 
the future. It has 90 years of history to call on when facing the 
challenges of the years to come.

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