[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 77 (Wednesday, May 26, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6155-S6156]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         OLDER AMERICANS MONTH

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, Older Americans Month is drawing to a 
close. Before it ends, I would like to describe another Iowan whose 
accomplishments reflect an ageless spirit.


                            margaret swanson

  Margaret Swanson of Des Moines has been called the city's ``best 
known and most beloved volunteer.'' Approaching age 80, she has 
completed 50 years of volunteer service.
  Despite her pledge to slow down, she still maintains a heavy 
schedule. She estimates that she volunteers 20 hours to 25 hours a 
week. Sometimes, she has four or five board meetings in a single day.
  New causes present themselves, and Mrs. Swanson is not of a mind to 
say no. Her varied interests have included the Iowa Lutheran Hospital, 
the American Red Cross, the Girl Scouts, the East Des Moines Chamber of 
Commerce and the Iowa Caregivers Foundation. She identifies a need, 
immerses herself in the task and produces the desired result.
  When her church needed an elevator, she raised money to buy one. When 
a used car center tried to open in her neighborhood, she fought for a 
day care center instead. When a home for children had an out-of-tune 
piano, she found an inexpensive tuner. No challenge appears too large 
or too small for her attention.
  Mrs. Swanson's volunteer work has earned her such esteem that other 
community activists clear their ideas with her before proceeding. Her 
fellow volunteers prize her knowledge and judgment.
  Age doesn't seem to play a role in Mrs. Swanson's approach to 
volunteerism. She is an outstanding volunteer, rather than an 
outstanding senior volunteer. Growing older means only that she brings 
more experience and more wisdom to her work. In volunteerism, as in so 
many other aspects of life, maturity is an asset, certainly not a 
liability.
  During Older Americans Month, I want to thank Mrs. Swanson for her 
limitless gifts of time and energy to the citizens of Des Moines. By 
setting high standards of altruism, and by inspiring new generations of 
volunteers, Mrs. Swanson perfectly illustrates the theme of Older 
Americans Month, ``Honor the Past, Imagine the Future: Toward a Society 
for All Ages.''


                              ED JOHNSTON

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, there is a saying that success is the 
repetition of meaningful acts day after day. The most successful 
individuals identify a single purpose and work toward that cause in any 
capacity they can find.
  An Iowan named Ed Johnston perfectly fits this definition of success. 
Mr. Johnston, of Humboldt, Iowa, tirelessly devotes his days to helping 
people with disabilities. He serves on the Governor's Developmental 
Disabilities Council, a position he earned after immersing himself in 
learning about the agencies that serve those with disabilities.
  Several days a week, he volunteers at the Humboldt County Courthouse 
to help people with special needs in five

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surrounding counties. He interacts with legislators about the 
importance of providing proper job training to persons with 
disabilities. He offers his expertise when someone seeks a wheelchair 
ramp or assistive technology to accommodate a physical need.
  Mr. Johnston brings the invaluable insight to his work of someone who 
has lived the life of the people he seeks to help. He himself has a 
physical disability, although no one would consider him limited in any 
way.
  Those familiar with his work admire his compassion and persistence. 
He is able to navigate the layers of government agencies that sometimes 
appear impenetrable to those who need services.
  Another impressive element of Mr. Johnston's advocacy work is that it 
is his second career. In the early 1990s, he retired after 38 years of 
running his own shoe repair business and devoted himself to his current 
vocation.
  The Humboldt Independent newspaper called Mr. Johnston ``a man on the 
move.'' The description is accurate. He moves government agencies, 
legislators and his community to respond to the needs of persons with 
disabilities. At age 64, Mr. Johnston is the youngest of the Iowans I 
have honored during Older Americans Month. I wish him many more years 
of his priceless work.


                           fred and fern robb

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, the Fairfield Ledger of Fairfield, IA, 
printed a photo of a newly married couple earlier this month. The groom 
is wearing a stylish suit and a wide smile. The equally resplendent 
bride has eyes only for her new husband.
  The couple is picture-perfect, just like any other couple starting a 
new life together. Unlike any other couple, the groom in this case is 
age 102.
  The Rev. Fred Robb of Washington, Iowa, married Fern Claxton, 25 
years younger, at the Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Iowa, on April 
9, 1999. The couple renewed an old friendship at the Rev. Robb's 100th 
birthday celebration in 1996. Among other meetings, they shared in the 
100th birthday celebration of the minister's brother, Milt Robb, in 
January.
  The Rev. Robb is one of more than 750 centenarians in Iowa. I don't 
know for a fact, but I'd bet many of them approach aging with the same 
positive spirit as the Rev. Robb.
  I run into a lot of older Iowans who don't impose unnatural limits on 
themselves because of their age. They don't stop doing what's important 
to them just because the calendar reflects a certain milestone. These 
individuals are ageless, not due to the years they have lived but in 
their approach to life. One of my favorite examples of an ageless Iowan 
is a 92-year-old woman who was in a hurry because she said she had to 
deliver meals to the ``old people.''
  During Older Americans Month, I want to congratulate Fred and Fern 
Robb on their ageless spirit and wish them a happy life together. By 
defying the conventional wisdom that newlyweds must be young, the Robbs 
advance the theme of Older Americans Month: ``Honor the Past, Imagine 
the Future: Toward a Society for All Ages.''

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