[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 125 (Thursday, September 23, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1946-E1947]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


RECOGNITION OF JOANNA LUBKIN AND THE STUDENT HISTORIC PRESERVATION TEAM

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                          HON. CHARLES F. BASS

                            of new hampshire

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 23, 1999

  Mr. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to bring to your attention an event in 
which I participated celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Land and 
Water Conservation Fund, and to bring recognition to the remarkable 
young girl I met and the group to which she belongs.
  On July 22, 1999, I joined civic and conservation leaders on a 
bicycle tour of Mine Falls Park in Nashua, New Hampshire, which has 
received four separate state-side grants totaling $684,496. During the 
tour, we stopped at a gatehouse built in 1886. Fairgrounds Junior High 
School student Joanna Lubkin told us about her involvement with the 
Student Historic Preservation Team (SHPT) and their efforts to restore 
the building.
  The team's restoration efforts began last May with the removal of 
graffiti from the building's exterior. Once the removal is complete, 
the students plan to landscape the area surrounding the building and 
create inside a museum. The museum would highlight the gates that 
regulated the flow of water into a canal that runs from Mine falls to 
Nashua's millyard, providing power to the textile mills that were a 
vital part of Nashua's development as a manufacturing center in the 
19th century.

[[Page E1947]]

  This project is important, not only because of the gatehouse's 
historic value to the community, but also because of the impact 
participating in its restoration has had on Joanna Lubkin. I hope that 
Joanna's experience will encourage other young people to get involved 
in their community.
  Mr. Speaker, I submit to you a copy of Joanna Lubkin's remarks for 
the Record:

       My name is Joanna Lubkin and I have been an active part of 
     the Student Historic Preservation Team for about a year. I 
     hope to see this project out to the end and beyond. Being in 
     SHPT has really changed my outlook on life and the world 
     around me. I have met many new friends and have been able to 
     meet with city officials and have conversations with them 
     about our generations vision for the future. For once I felt 
     that I could really make a difference in our community.
       When Ms. Coe told my class about the Gatehouse and its role 
     in the making of our city and its sad story of neglect, I 
     felt compelled to join the club, if nothing else to learn 
     some more about the history of Nashua. Over that school year, 
     I learned about more than just my city's past, I realized 
     that we cannot hope to achieve a new future without 
     maintaining the links to our past. I accomplished things that 
     I didn't think I'd ever be able to do, (or want to do for 
     that matter--but I had a blast!) such as editing the first 
     issue of our newsletter.
       I also spent many hours fundraising and planning with the 
     group. During that time, I often found myself thinking about 
     what a monumental task it was that we were trying to 
     accomplish, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt 
     proud to be a part of such a group of people.
       I'll never forget how nervous I was at the first Charrette 
     that we held at City Hall. Other older members in the group 
     had meetings with big professionals like this before, but for 
     me, I had never even been in City Hall except once on a tour. 
     The feeling I had when I saw the other adults in the room 
     nodding in agreement with our plans was almost indescribable. 
     Until then, I had this tiny voice in the back of my head 
     saying, ``What are you nuts? You're a kid! No one's going to 
     listen to you.'' But they did listen. And for once someone 
     thought of kids not as a bunch of little gremlins to keep 
     control of, but as real people who could be just as serious 
     as any adult.
       I look at things now from a point of view where if there is 
     something that I see as unjust I can do something to make a 
     difference. I find myself sticking up for other kids more 
     often now and voicing my opinions about what is going on in 
     the world. I realize that I can no longer be a passive person 
     who sits and watches the news and says, ``Wow. Wish I could 
     do something like that.'' I have the chance to actually be 
     the person making the news, and that I can really do things 
     to help other people.
                                                    Joanna Lubkin,
                                                      SHPT Member.

     

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