[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 129 (Wednesday, September 18, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1638]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO THE DE ANZA HISTORIC TRAIL

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BILL BAKER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 18, 1996

  Mr. BAKER of California. Mr. Speaker, the Juan Bautista De Anza 
National Historic Trail was a major link between my home State of 
California and Mexico. That's why, on October 12, a relay will begin 
over the trail's historical route starting in Hermosillo, Sonora, 
Mexico.
  The De Anza Trail was designated as a historic trail in legislation 
passed almost unanimously in Congress and signed into law by August 15, 
1990. The October 12 event is being organized and administered by 
Heritage Trails Fund, a non-profit organization headquartered in my 
district. Heritage Trails acts in concert with the National Park 
Service.
  A host of volunteers in California, Arizona, and Mexico, coordinated 
by committees in some 20 United States and Mexican counties, have 
organized this memorable event, and they deserve great credit for their 
efforts.
  The significance of the De Anza Trail is rooted in the late 18th 
century. In 1775-76, Colonel Juan Bautista de Anza led 240 colonists 
from Mexico to what is now San Francisco. They began a mission and 
built the Presidio, securing California for Mexico and preventing 
Russian and British advances in northern California. The rest, of 
course, is history, and the De Anza Trail was history's pathway.
  Several people involved in this wonderful effort deserve specific 
recognition. George Cardinet, president of the Heritage Trails Fund, 
and Nancy DuPont, executive director of the fund, have done remarkable 
work in putting the event together. Arizona's Don Garate of the 
Tumacacori National Historic Park, Hermosillo's Senor Enrique Salgado 
of Cablagata de Kino fame, Dr. Juan Ignacio Rodriquez of Mexico City, 
chairman of the Anza Committee of Mexico, all deserve our thanks for 
their superb efforts. Rudy Col, director of the port of entry in 
Nogales also deserves our thanks for his work in coordinating a gala 
entry of the relay at the U.S. border.
  The relay will carry this message from the Congressional Record, 
greetings to the mayor of San Francisco from officials in Mexico, as 
well as flasks of water from the Sonoran River to be poured into the 
waters of the Golden Gate at Fort Point, the site of Anza and Moraga's 
Castillo San Joaquin.
  This is a signal international event, a sturdy link in the strong 
chain of United States-Mexican relations, and I trust that my 
colleagues will join me in wishing all who participate in it the very 
best as they celebrate this historic venture.

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