[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 102 (Thursday, July 11, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1246]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   LAFAYETTE DAY CELEBRATION TO HONOR THE NAMESAKE OF FAYETTE COUNTY

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                           HON. FRANK MASCARA

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 10, 1996

  Mr. MASCARA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to make my colleagues aware of 
a special event which will occur in my district this weekend. It is the 
first annual Lafayette Day celebration to be held in Uniontown, PA, on 
July 14, 1996. As part of this day's events, I will help dedicate a 
center at the Uniontown Library honoring this French soldier.
  Many of you may not know, but the Marquis de Lafayette is the 
namesake of Fayette County, a portion of which lies in my district. A 
member of a titled, military family, Lafayette was enamored with 
Benjamin Franklin's writings about freedom. As a result, spending his 
own money, he traveled to this country at the age of 17 on his way to 
join George Washington at Valley Forge to help fight the Revolutionary 
War. General Washington was so impressed with young Lafayette that he 
was soon commissioned as a major general in the Continental Army.
  After helping to win freedom for our country, Lafayette returned to 
France and aided the French Revolution. He came back to America in 1825 
with his son, appropriately named George Washington Lafayette. The pair 
traveled for a year throughout our Nation and made a triumphant return 
to Fayette County. Lafayette was so taken with the area that legend has 
it that he took a trunk full of the county's soil back home to be 
placed on his grave.
  The leaders of Uniontown, anxious to promote tourism and economic 
development, have joined with the Fayette County Tourism Advisory Board 
in planning the Lafayette Day events for this coming Sunday. Next year, 
they plan to expand the celebration to a week-long event which will 
feature French dignitaries and Lafayette descendants.
  Their long-range hope is that this annual event will lead to the 
construction of the Hall of Fame of Freedom, a museum which would not 
only honor Lafayette's deep commitment to freedom, but also George C. 
Marshall, who was born and raised in Uniontown, and many other 
historical figures who grace Fayette County's colorful history.
  Mr. Speaker, the citizens of Fayette County should be very proud of 
this event and hope fully they, and any citizens and Members visiting 
in the area, will stop by and enjoy this wonderful and important 
celebration.

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