[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 68 (Wednesday, May 21, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E998-E999]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PETE DARLING

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. AMO HOUGHTON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 21, 1997

  Mr. HOUGHTON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the House to help me 
pay tribute to Dr. Arthur Perry ``Pete'' Darling, who today celebrates 
his 80th birthday. Pete Darling lives in Corning, NY. He came there in 
1952. For the

[[Page E999]]

last 45 years he has been an essential, constant, vital part of our 
small town. He is a true American original, and his story is part of 
the bedrock upon which this Nation is built. His children have this to 
say about their father:

       Our dad endured a childhood of poverty--the sort of poverty 
     it's better to read about in Horatio Alger than to 
     experience. He lost his mother while he was still a small 
     boy, and in the midst of the depression Dad got himself 
     through Williams College on a scholarship that didn't include 
     money for books, so he never bought any. After graduation he 
     spent a year working 18 hour shifts as a bellhop to earn the 
     tuition for medical school, and though he interrupted his 
     studies to enlist in the Army during World War II, he was 
     eventually able to finish his surgical internship and 
     residency at Columbia University and the University of 
     Chicago.
       Do you measure a man's value by his work? Dad is a 
     brilliant surgeon. He brought a level of talent, innovation 
     and skill to our hometown that saved countless lives. 
     Sometimes we went with him on his housecalls, helping to 
     carry his black bag. We've heard countless stories about how 
     he listened to his patients, demanded the best from the 
     hospital and its staff, and never accepted any of the endless 
     offers that came his way to practice in other places.
       Or is a man judged by his courage? We've never found a 
     braver man than our father. At the height of his career, Dad 
     lost his sight. His surgical career ended overnight. At a 
     time when most men are contemplating retirement and solitude, 
     he built a new life for himself at the age of 61. He gave up 
     the practice he loved without a backward glance, and went to 
     work at Corning, Inc., building a first-rate medical 
     department.
       He raised the money to found a low-vision clinic, a clinic 
     that today offers those with limited sight the practical 
     advice and tools they need to make a full, independent life 
     possible.
       Dad eventually retired at the age of 70, and finally had 
     time for the things he loves--fly fishing, scotch, golf, good 
     food, good conversation, a good joke. More than anything on 
     earth, though, he loves our mother, Anne, his wife of 37 
     years. A local mechanic, speaking with them about the loss of 
     his own wife, said wistfully, ``I'd like to think we had the 
     same sort of marriage you two have,'' and with those words he 
     spoke for everyone who knows our parents. They have talked, 
     laughed, loved and occasionally fought their way through 
     nearly four decades of marriage, and no invention of 
     Hollywood could ever tell a finer story.
       Together they raised five children, creating a secure haven 
     of love and stability in the midst of turbulent times.
       All five of us have grown and gone now, and have 
     established careers of our own in education, business, 
     finance, law, politics and religion. Each child has at least 
     one degree, some have two, one is working on her third. We 
     are making our mark from New York to San Francisco, and 
     trying to set the same standards in our chosen fields as our 
     parents did in theirs. It's a hard act we're following, but 
     if you asked Dad what he takes the most pride in, we suspect 
     he would point to our independence, even if it does 
     occasionally drive him wild.

  Mr. Speaker, those children, their spouses, and Pete's grandchildren 
will all arrive in Corning in a few days, to celebrate this special 
birthday and this special man. His has been a life of service, courage, 
and love. I am proud to call him my friend.

                          ____________________