[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 96 (Friday, July 17, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1331]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  A TRIBUTE TO THE BARBER FAMILY ON THE BARBER FAMILY REUNION AND THE 
                 IMPORTANCE OF STRONG AMERICAN FAMILIES

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JIM RAMSTAD

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 16, 1998

  Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to salute a strong American 
family from throughout our great nation which will be holding an 
especially loud and joyous reunion in Minneapolis from July 30th to 
August 2nd.
  The Barber Family will be celebrating the ``Power of Family.'' 
Nothing could be more right on target. I want to wish the Barber 
Family, and Barber Family Reunion State Chairperson Marion Barber, the 
very best for a most successful family gathering.
  Mr. Speaker, I salute all American families for the miracles they 
perform every day. Together, America's families are what our nation is 
all about: The freedom to love, the freedom to work, the freedom from 
crime and hatred, the freedom to pursue our dreams.
  If you want to gauge the value of family in America today, you should 
show up at the Barber Family Reunion, which has chosen as its reunion 
theme ``Linking the Past, Present and the Future.''
  Mr. Speaker, as Congress considers actions in its day-to-day routine, 
I urge every member to keep families like the Barbers in mind.
  As Marion Barber wrote in a letter to me, ``Family and family ties 
are the most important elements that make up the core and fabric of the 
true American family. What the family does and the values it practices 
have a great impact on our society. Families need to stay together, 
pray together and help each other.''
  Mr. Speaker, it's families like the Barbers--staying together, 
looking out for each other, helping each other--that provide our great 
nation with its real strength. Our families know how to overcome 
challenges and difficulties-- and survive and flourish.
  The Barber Family's history is the story of our nation. Jim Barber, a 
slave, more than a century and a half ago, was brought down from 
Virginia to Georgia and sold to John Reynolds. There, he met Elizabeth 
Reynolds, another slave. They married and had seven children.
  And in a few days, the descendants of Jim and Elizabeth Barber will 
be celebrating their blessings and their love for each other in 
Minneapolis. Their struggles have not divided them, just as our great 
nation's struggles have not divided America.
  Mr. Speaker, the Barber Family represents the American Dream and 
today I wish all the members of the Barber Family the very best. I 
thank them for doing their part to make America the greatest country on 
earth.

                          ____________________