[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 150 (Tuesday, October 20, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2255]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO WESLEY E. BISGAARD

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DUNCAN HUNTER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 20, 1998

  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, on August 6th of this year the State of 
California and specifically the communities of Imperial County within 
my district suffered a great loss with the death of Mr. Wesley E. 
Bisgaard. Throughout his life, Wes was dedicated to his family, church 
and community. I rise today to recognize his remarkable dedication and 
contributions to all of us.
  I met Wes in 1979 during my first campaign for Congress when he was 
serving as the Republican Party chair for Imperial County. I still 
remember the look in his eye when he first shook my hand, it was as if 
to say ``this is what I have to work with?'' From that day forward, he 
was always ready to lend me a hand and offer advice that he gleaned 
from years of working through the various systems of government, 
whether it was the State of California or the U.S. Congress. One thing 
about Wes, he never left you wondering what his opinion was.
  Wes led a remarkable life that reads like a John Steinbeck novel. 
After the dust bowl the Bisgaard family moved from their farm in North 
Dakota to California where they eventually began a new life in 
Holtville, California, where they remain today. During World War II, 
while Wes worked for Douglas Aircraft, he 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 of alfalfa, lettuce, cotton, sugar beets, 
barley, cabbage, and later wheat for seed.
  Agriculture is the mainstay of not only Imperial Valley, but 
California as well and Wes played a very active role through his 
memberships on many local and state farming advisory boards and 
commissions. In fact, when he finally retired at the age of 79 he was 
the Manager of the Imperial County Farm Bureau, completing a 45 year 
career in the industry.
  Wes and his wife Millie lived their lives with a strong work ethic, 
unimpeachable ethical standards, a central place for God in their 
lives, an abiding sense of charity towards others and a compelling 
degree of commitment to the wider community. Those of us lucky enough 
to know Wes will forever be grateful for that opportunity. Imperial 
County and the farmers there are better off today because of his 
dedication and commitment to his community: for that, all of us are 
grateful.

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