[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 95 (Tuesday, June 25, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1161]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CITIZENS CELEBRATE FIRST WARD COMMUNITY CENTER, FWCC OLD TIMERS CLUB

                                 ______


                          HON. JAMES A. BARCIA

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 25, 1996

  Mr. BARCIA. Mr. Speaker, how well a community does is directly 
related to the willingness of its people to commit themselves to making 
their community better. The first ward of Saginaw, MI, has benefited 
from the commitment of its citizens who, later this week, will be 
celebrating the 60th anniversary of the First Ward Community Center, 
and the 50th anniversary of the First Ward Old Timers Club.
  More than 60 years ago, a community center was begun at 1013 North 
6th Street to improve the neighborhood. Everyone in the community was 
invited to join in programs that were offered to help individuals, and 
through that make the first ward as good as it could be. Sixty years 
ago the center became part of the Welfare League, which predated United 
Way of Saginaw. In 1944, hands were joined across the community to make 
a human chain to move two old barracks to the center's current location 
at 1410 North 12th Street.
  Over these many years of making the first ward better and better, the 
center has offered programs in adult counseling, recreation, 
preschooling, athletic activities, classroom and library facilities, 
and many, many memorable moments for the thousands of people who used 
the First Ward Community Center even just once.
  The center has been broadly supported by the community, but not more 
strongly than by the Old Timers Club, which is celebrating its 50th 
anniversary. This wonderful group worked to provide support for the 
center to help the youth of the community. They have done so since 
their first picnic for youth in 1946, through the annualization of this 
event, and through the operation of a bingo for the center. The 
countless and invaluable hours of volunteer service to the center were 
vital in the growth of the First Ward Community Center and its positive 
impact on the neighborhood.
  Mr. Speaker, when people ask for examples of where local commitment, 
constant probing for new solutions to problems, and devotion to higher 
ideals exist, tell them to look no further than the First Ward 
Community Center and the First Ward Community Center Old Timers Club of 
Saginaw, MI. For 60 years the First Ward Community Center has had a 
positive impact on Saginaw neighborhoods which continues today under 
the capable leadership of Charles Braddock, executive director, and the 
board of dedicated community volunteers. I urge all of our colleagues 
to join me in wishing both of these excellent organizations the very 
best on their anniversaries, and many more to come.

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