[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 160 (Thursday, November 13, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H10946-H10947]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



       TRIBUTE TO ED NICHOLS UPON HIS RETIREMENT
  (Mr. KLECZKA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. KLECZKA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to dispel a myth. Most of us 
who frequent this Chamber, if we ever stop to consider it, probably 
think the mace just magically appears and disappears at the start and 
conclusion of each session. The truth is much harder to believe. For 
the past 21 years, without missing a single day, a gentleman named Ed 
Nichols has faithfully carried out the ceremonial duties associated 
with the mace. An historic symbol of the duty of the Sergeant at Arms 
to keep order in the House of Representatives, the mace, right behind 
me, lets us know at a glance when we are meeting in the full session.
  Ed has decided to retire at the end of the 105th Congress, and that 
end has come tonight. His career on Capitol Hill began in 1976 with the 
office of Sergeant at Arms. Previous to that, he spent several years in 
the Navy living for a time in Japan with his wife Joan. As assistant to 
the Sergeant at Arms, Ed's duties extended beyond the care and feeding 
of the mace, to include accompanying delegations of Members for a 
variety of activities, most recently to the funeral services for our 
late colleague Walter Capps.
  Members new to the institution found Ed a willing and friendly source 
of information as they struggled to get a handle on the legislative 
process. Perhaps this is where we will miss Ed most of all.
  The sense of loss we feel in Ed's retirement is tempered by the 
knowledge that a long-cherished dream is about to become a reality. Ed 
and his beloved wife Joan recently purchased a beautiful home on 
Maryland's Eastern Shore. Their two sons, Ron and Bobby, and their 
daughter Susan, along with their four grandchildren, are blocking off 
vacation time at this home as this tribute is being delivered tonight.
  Ed leaves behind a career of dedication to this institution that will 
not be forgotten or easily duplicated. We join together today to wish 
him the very best, which is what he gave to us every day.
  Ed, good fishing, good golfing, good luck, and, good God, please 
don't write a book.
  Mr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. KLECZKA. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. ARMEY. Mr. Speaker, Ed Nichols, I remember, if I may, watching 
the House of Representatives back in 1982 and 1983, before I even 
thought of being a Member. I was always so impressed with the opening 
of the House, even as a citizen, having never in my life having been to 
Washington or in this Chamber, the ceremony, the seriousness of the 
matter, the professionalism by which the House is opened each day. Some 
days it seems like the last moment of professionalism for the House 
that day, as it gets to be a raucus-caucus place on occasion. But 
always when Ed Nichols would open that door and bring that mace before 
us, we knew something important was going to happen in the Nation's 
business that day.
  Ed has done this for 21 years as a service to his country, to this 
Chamber, and I believe to his family and to each Member here. If I 
might join the gentleman in wishing my best for you in retirement, may 
your home never be large enough to hold all your friends, and may you 
outlive all your enemies.
  Ms. DUNN of Washington. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. KLECZKA. I yield to the gentlewoman from Washington.
  Ms. DUNN. Mr. Speaker, I, too, am one of the admirers of Ed Nichols. 
There are many people in this body who walk through your life and leave 
no imprint, but there are others like Ed Nichols, whom you remember 
forever. Ed is a person to me who epitomizes everything good about the 
institution of the House, and that is probably because he is dedicated 
to it and committed to it and loves this place. You can tell that when 
you talk to the other people who work around this body and how much 
they are going to miss Ed Nichols as he leaves to go to his chosen 
retreat on the Eastern Shore to fish and enjoy time with his family.
  I came here 5 years ago, and he was the first person I noticed as I 
walked in for my first vote. He was the epitome of the dignity that I 
expected to find after having been honored by my constituents as they 
chose me to come and represent them. He is the person we looked toward 
as we walked onto the floor of the House for votes, who personified the 
traditions of this great place, the seriousness of this great 
institution, and the love that those of us who are committed to this 
House now feel for it.
  So for the time I have been here, Ed has been a fixture, and he has 
made an imprint on my life. He is not somebody that I will soon forget, 
and it is for this reason, Ed, that I am honored to be able to say 
thank you for the good things that you have done for those of us who 
cherish this experience. We know you cherish it along with us. It is my 
great honor to say thank you on behalf of all of us. We will miss you.
  Mr. PASTOR. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. KLECZKA. I yield to the gentleman from Arizona.
  Mr. PASTOR. Mr. Speaker, in October 1991 when I first came to this 
House, one of the persons in this House, after I was sworn in, who came 
to me and said, if I can be of any help, please call on me, and I have 
to tell you that from that day and even today, I sometimes seek his 
counsel, and I cherish his friendship.
  So, Ed, I want to thank you form the friendship you have given me. I 
want to thank you for the 21 years of service you have given this 
country, and I wish you the best and many years of retirement.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. KLECZKA. I yield to the gentleman from California.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding. I rise 
because I am really somewhat shocked this evening, having heard the 
remarks of my friend from Arizona, my friend from Washington, my friend 
from Texas. I had been up to this moment convinced I was the only 
person in this Chamber that Ed Nichols had came to and said, you know, 
I will do anything for you that I possibly can to help you.
  But I find that he was more evenhanded than any of us could have 
possibly thought. He did a great deal, not only ceremonially, but in 
providing assistance to many of us, and I have to say that I had the 
great opportunity to get to know Ed and his wife Joan when we used to 
have those wonderful trips that would go in a bipartisan way every 
other year to New York City, and I remember those many visits. My 
friend from New York City, Mr. Gilman, is applauding once again, hoping 
we can once again have those sorts of bipartisan quarters. Ed will not 
be here for those, but he clearly did play a role in facilitating 
those, making them a very, very enjoyable experience for every one of 
us.
  Obviously, here in this Chamber, as I said, he obviously has helped 
many, many others, and I appreciate his friendship, and I am very 
gratified by the directive that has come from my friend from Wisconsin 
that Mr. Nichols not write a book.

[[Page H10947]]

  Thank you very much.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. KLECZKA. I yield to the gentleman from Maryland.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin for 
yielding.
  I rise, Ed, on behalf of myself, but also on behalf of the Minority 
Leader, Dick Gephardt; our Whip, David Bonior; the Chairman of our 
Caucus, Vic Fazio, and the Vice Chairman of our Caucus, Barbara 
Kennelly, and all the other leadership and Members on our side of the 
aisle.
  Ed Nichols has chosen well for the Eastern Shore. Now, I represent 
the Western Shore, and Wayne Gilchrest is not here, but I am sure that 
Wayne would swell with pride and be delighted, Ed, that you are going 
to spend many years of full enjoyment of not only the Shore, but of the 
many recreational opportunities it has. As the gentleman from Wisconsin 
has said, and the majority leader said, a house full of relatives and 
friends.

                              {time}  2330

  Far too often, as I have said so many times on this floor, the public 
turns on C-Span and they see confrontation. Sometimes they even see 
vitriol directed at one another.
  What they do not see often enough is the human relationships of which 
the gentlewoman from Washington [Ms. Dunn] spoke. What they do not see 
is the commitment and dedication of the folks who sit at the desk and 
stand on the floor to ensure that in the context of the confrontation 
of philosophies and ideas, that there is a semblance of order which 
allows us to do the people's business, which allows this people's House 
to act in the finest traditions of democracy. It is people who, as has 
been said before, like Ed Nichols, dedicated to his country, dedicated 
to this institution.
  Ed Nichols has served under 5 Speakers of the House: Speaker Albert, 
Speaker O'Neill, Speaker Wright, Speaker Foley, and now Speaker 
Gingrich. He has served, as my colleagues can tell from listening to 
the comments made by both sides of the aisle, by Members more liberal, 
by Members more conservative, he has dealt with each of us in an 
evenhanded, positive fashion, reaching out to us to assist us in 
representing to the very best of our abilities the people of our 
constituencies. And in so doing, he has made a very significant and 
lasting contribution to the strength of this country and the strength 
of this institution.
  Ed, we will miss you from this floor. We will not forget you. We hope 
you will return often for that smile and the warm word, the handshake, 
the nod of encouragement. It meant a great deal to all of us. God bless 
and Godspeed.
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. KLECZKA. I yield to the gentlewoman from Maryland.
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me, 
because I am pleased, and yet I am mournful of the fact that Ed Nichols 
is leaving us in this Chamber.
  Mr. Speaker, I have had people say to me, when they have watched C-
Span, they have called and said, who is that good-looking, gray-haired 
man who brings in the mace? And I think to myself, Ed Nichols, of 
course.
  In fact, somebody even asked me where you lived, Ed. I really wanted 
to say he is my constituent. He lives in Montgomery County, Maryland. 
But unfortunately for me, he is moving to the Eastern Shore, to another 
part of Maryland, but for me he will always be not only my constituent, 
but my very good friend.
  He has seen a lot of things happen in his 20-plus years, his 2 
decades plus 1 here on this House floor, and he also has a great sense 
of humor, and I often think that as we enter the Chamber, there is a 
statue of Will Rogers there and he is kind of looking down, sort of 
smiling.
  I remember something that Will Rogers said, not because I was there, 
but I remember reading about Will Rogers making the statement that 
Congress is a place where somebody speaks and says nothing, nobody 
listens, and everybody disagrees.
  Well, I do not know. I think we have our man here who could give 
testimony to the fact that a lot of good things do happen in this 
Chamber. I know that we will always remember the fact that he was 
there, as has been mentioned, ready to help us, ready to smile, to say 
everything is going to be fine, this is the way it is done, and very 
professional, very professional and dignified in all that he did. He 
made this station be exactly what it should be: One where all of us can 
look up to what he has done.
  So Ed, we appreciate your sense of humor, your professionalism, your 
dignity, your fairness. On both sides of the aisle we can see 
tremendous testimony given to you. I will be very careful about those 
speed bumps in your neighborhood. I do not know whether they have them 
on the Eastern Shore or not, probably not.
  But quite candidly, I will miss you, my colleagues will miss you, and 
we hope that you have a grand time. As Emerson said to Thoreau, ``I 
meet you at the beginning of a new adventure.'' May you enjoy your 
adventure, because you certainly left an impact here. Thank you. 
Godspeed.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. KLECZKA. I yield to the gentleman from Minnesota.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  I began my service in this body as a member of the staff, and I have 
great respect and particular appreciation for those who serve to 
support this institution and support the Members and guide them, point 
them in the right path, and that is what Ed Nichols has been for all of 
us. He has been a safe haven in a storm, and when things were swirling 
about and there was confusion on the floor, many is the Member who 
sought the quiet refuge and the steady hand of Ed Nichols off in the 
corner, explaining what had happened, predicting what was about to 
happen, and apologizing when it did not happen that way.
  He understands the institutions, he understood each of us and our 
specific needs, and he responded in a very special and unique way. But 
the treasure, for all of the kind and wonderful things that others have 
said about Ed Nichols, the treasure I will carry with me is the 
treasure of his friendship, the warmth and the caring of a very special 
person.
  I recall when my wife Jo passed away and Ed was there to help with 
the arrangements for the Mass of Resurrection. For all those who came 
to pay their respects, he made it all happen in a very orderly and 
respectful manner, as he has conducted himself in this office that he 
holds and which he is about to leave.
  Adlai Stevenson, addressing a graduating class, said, ``As you leave, 
remember why you came.'' Ed will never forget why he came. He came to 
serve. We thank you for that service.
  Mr. KLECZKA. So Ed, on behalf of all of your friends here in the 
House of Representatives, let me thank you for your 21 years of 
dedicated service. May you enjoy your retirement in good health and 
with God's blessing, and know that when I have the annual get-together 
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with kielbasa, you are always invited.

                          ____________________