[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 130 (Friday, September 25, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1814-E1815]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        TRIBUTE TO EMILY SILICH AND THE CITY OF HOBART, INDIANA

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                        HON. PETER J. VISCLOSKY

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 25, 1998

  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I commend 
the City of Hobart, Indiana, for dedicating its newest park to the 
memory of the late Emily Silich. On Saturday, September 26, at 10:00 
AM, Emily Silich's family and friends will gather to honor her memory. 
It is due to Emily's dream, vision, and extraordinary efforts that this 
park has been created to enrich the lives and neighborhoods of the 
people of Hobart, and the whole of Northwest Indiana.
  Emily Silich Park, as it will be named, began as only an idea, a 
dream. As the City Councilwoman for the Second District of Hobart, 
Emily sought to provide her constituents with their first park. From 
its humble beginnings in 1992, to the final culmination in 1998, this 
drive to provide a positive, clean, and public park for the Second 
District has been a study in determination and persistence. After Emily 
Silich passed away in 1995, her family and friends did not allow her 
dream to fade away.
  Instead, Silich's family and friends enlisted the aid of Mayor Linda 
Buzinec, the local YMCA Board, and Hobart residents. With the aid of 
the current City Councilman from the Second District, Carl Lindsey, 
land was purchased from the YMCA. Tom Silich, Emily's husband, and Carl 
Lindsey donated $3,000 and $500, respectively, in order to purchase 
land for the park. These efforts, and the work of countless others, has 
helped to realize one of Emily's goals. Emily Silich Park is located in 
Hobart, Indiana, on two acres of land. It has among its features a 
picnic shelter, and playground equipment for the children of the 
neighborhood. In the future, the Park Board is seeking to add tennis 
courts and other attractive features.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my distinguished colleagues to join me in 
congratulating the selfless efforts of the Silich family,

[[Page E1815]]

Mayor Buzinec, and Councilman Lindsey. Through their hard work, 
dedication, and determination, Emily Silich's goal was realized. 
Citizens like Tom Silich, Robin Toneff, Carl Lindsey, and Linda Buzinec 
are examples of the true American ideal: Citizens improving themselves, 
their neighborhoods, and their communities. I am proud to serve such 
dedicated residents of Indiana's First Congressional District.

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