[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 64 (Thursday, May 15, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E937]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO EUGENE T. HORTON

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL P. FORBES

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 15, 1997

  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mr. Eugene T. 
Horton, a dedicated educator who was taught social studies at the East 
Moriches School on Long Island for the past 33 years. When the school 
year ends this June, Gene will retire from the most noble of 
professions. As he departs, Gene leaves behind a proud legacy for the 
entire East Moriches community, a gift inspired by his love for history 
and a desire to impart that passion to each of his students.
  A lifelong Long Islander, Gene Horton has given generously of himself 
to the East Moriches School, imparting his prodigious knowledge and 
love for history to his students. Rather than force the rote 
memorization of dates and facts, he brought his lessons to life, 
inspiring in his students his own abundant pride and expansive 
understanding of their American heritage.
  Realizing that history is a living creature that should be 
experienced, Gene Horton organized an annual trip to our Nation's 
Capitol, providing his East Moriches students the opportunity to bear 
witness to America's own history as it unfolds. His enthusiasm for 
local history of his own Long Island community inspired many students 
to join him in developing the book ``Strolling Through Old East 
Moriches.'' That pride in community extended outside the social studies 
classroom, inspiring many East Moriches residents to join him and his 
students in the now annual ``Clean Up East Moriches'' Earth Day 
project.
  Gene Horton's love for local history has led to another career as an 
author and newspaper columnist. He has had three books on his home town 
of Blue Point published: ``Blue Point Remembered'' in 1982, ``A History 
of Our Lady of the Snow Church'' in 1985 and the ``Centennial History 
of the Blue Point Fire Department'' in 1990.
  An admiring colleague offered this quote by the German philosopher 
Goethe to illustrate Gene's devotion to his profession and his 
students: ``Happy the person who thinks of ancestors with pride, who 
likes to tell of their deeds and greatness, and rejoices to feel linked 
to the end of a goodly chain.'' As a teacher and American, Gene Horton 
is inextricably linked to that goodly chain, connecting him equally to 
those who founded and built this great Nation, and to the leaders of 
tomorrow to whom he has imparted his knowledge an affection for 
history.
  So I rise, Mr. Speaker, to ask my colleagues in the U.S. House of 
Representatives to join me in honoring a man who has given so much to 
the children of East Moriches. Our Nation's priceless heritage is truly 
cherished by the residents of this seaside community along Long 
Island's south shore, because for the past three decades its children 
have learned America's story from a gifted teacher whose love for story 
of his ancestor and a devotion to our American heritage links him 
forever to the goodly chain.

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