[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 76 (Thursday, June 5, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1144]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO WES BISGAARD

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. DUNCAN L. HUNTER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 5, 1997

  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the remarkable 
dedication and contributions of a constituent in my district, Mr. Wes 
Bisgaard of Holtville, CA. Wes is the manager of the Imperial County 
Farm Bureau, but he will soon be retiring and I would like to take a 
moment to commend his devoted service to his community.
  The Bisgaard family's move to California reads like the ``Grapes of 
Wrath''. After the dust bowl the family moved from their farm in North 
Dakota to California where they joined other family members in 
operating a dairy farm. Later, the family members began their own farm 
in Holtville, CA, where they remain today.
  During World War II, Wes worked for Douglas Aircraft on the new DC-3, 
and later became a quality control supervisor as the DC-4, the first 
pressurized aircraft, was developed. This plane was later appropriated 
by the Federal Government as a war transport plane and renamed the C-
54. During this period Wes met and married Mildred ``Millie'' Eppleman.
  In 1952, Wes and Millie along with their two children, Karen and 
Christopher, moved to Imperial Valley to join his brother and once 
again take up his first love: farming. The Bisgaard brothers farmed 
1,000 acres in alfalfa, lettuce, cotton, sugar beets, barley, cabbage, 
and later wheat for seed.
  Agriculture is of critical importance to Imperial Valley. Since he 
arrived in Holtville, Wes has been a very active member of the local 
and State farming community, serving on a number of advisory boards and 
commissions. Wes has been a director of the Imperial County Farm Bureau 
for over 40 years. During that time he served as president of the 
bureau early in its history, then again from 1990 through 1994, and is 
now its manager. He served as director for District 1, San Diego and 
Imperial Counties, of the California Farm Bureau Federation for 11 
years, as well as director for its Cal-Farm Insurance Bureau and the 
Cal-Farm Life Insurance Co. Wes is a 30-year member, and first 
chairman, for the Cotton Pest Control Board of the California 
Department of Food and Agriculture. On the international front, Wes has 
served for nearly 30 years as cochairman of the International Cotton 
Pest Work Committee, which coordinates scientific information developed 
by both the United States and Mexico.

  Salinas Lettuce Marketing Coop helped Imperial Valley farmers form 
the Highline Lettuce Coop with Wes as one of the founding directors. 
During a time when farm workers were often sacrificed in favor of 
increased profits, Wes successfully encourage Highline to build for the 
Bracero Mexicans a permanent labor camp constructed of block, with 
showers, a walk-in cooler, air conditioning, etc. These are just a few 
of Wes Bisgaard's accomplishments.
  Although Wes is formally resigning from the management of the 
Imperial County Farm Bureau, his contributions to our community and our 
State will be long remembered. In fact, if I know Wes, his gifts of 
time to and his love for our Valley are far from over. I am joined by 
the many families involved in the farming community of Imperial Valley 
when I say thank you for all that you have done, and we look forward to 
working with you in the future. Although the Farm Bureau will miss him, 
I am certain that he will continue to fight for the needs of the 
Valley.

                          ____________________