[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 134 (Wednesday, October 6, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2049-E2050]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     COMMENDING GARRISON KEILLOR, NATIONAL MEDAL OF THE ARTS WINNER

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BRUCE F. VENTO

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 6, 1999

  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate a great Minnesota and 
American humorist, Garrison Keillor. Keillor, best-selling author and 
radio host of ``A Prairie Home Companion,'' was recently awarded the 
1999 National Humanities Medal at a ceremony at Constitution Hall in 
Washington, D.C. Keillor was one of only 20 individuals selected by the 
White House to receive the National Medal of the Arts and Humanities 
for supporting the growth and availability of the arts and humanities 
to the American public.
  During the long, cold Minnesota winters and mosquito-infested 
summers, the characters of his fictitious small town, Lake Woebegon, 
make us laugh and remind us of the common human thread that runs 
through all our communities. And Mr. Keillor doesn't just stick to 
fictitious characters. With no shortage of raw material, he sometimes 
takes jibes at us politicians in Minnesota. But we don't mind too much 
because as Mr. Keillor writes:
  ``In Minnesota, you learn to avoid self-pity as if it were poison ivy 
in the woods. Winter is not a personal experience; everyone else is as 
cold as you are; so don't complain about it too much.''
  Garrison, I commend you for this great accomplishment. Keep writing, 
keep telling us your stories and keep us laughing.
  I submit the remarks by President Clinton at the National Medal of 
the Arts and Humanities Dinner as well as a September 30 Associated 
Press article listing all the 1999 Medal of the Arts and Humanities 
winners for the Record.

 Remarks by the President at National Medal of the Arts and Humanities 
                                 Dinner


                           September 29, 1999

       The President: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the White 
     House. A special welcome to all of our honorees of the 
     National Medals of Arts and Humanities. The nice thing about 
     this evening, apart from being here in America's House 
     slightly before we celebrate its 200th birthday, is that 
     there are no speeches and lots of entertainment--unless, of 
     course, Mr. Keillor wants to substitute for me at this 
     moment. I'll be living down that

[[Page E2050]]

     crack I made about him for the rest of my life.
       I want to say again, as I did today and as Hillary did, 
     that this is one of the most enjoyable and important days of 
     every year to us, because it gives America a chance to 
     recognize our sons and daughters who have enriched our lives, 
     made us laugh, made us think, made us cry, lifted us up when 
     we were down. In so many ways, all of you have touched so 
     many people that you will never know. But in all of them 
     accumulated, you have made America a better place, you've 
     made the world a finer place.
       And as we look to the new century, I hope that as time goes 
     on we will be known more and more for things beyond our 
     wealth and power, that go to the wealth and power of our 
     spirit. Insofar as that happens, it will be because of you 
     and people like you. And it was a privilege for all of us to 
     honor you today.
       I would like to ask all of you here to join me in a toast 
     to the 1999 winners of the Medal of Arts and the Medal of 
     Humanities. And welcome. Thank you.

                              Arts Medals

                          (By Joseph Schumann)

       Washington (AP).--As Aretha Franklin, Steven Spielberg and 
     August Wilson passed through a White House receiving line, 
     President Clinton was overheard telling one guest, ``If I 
     could make Keillor laugh, I knew that I had achieved.''
       Humorist Garrison Keillor, director Spielberg, soul diva 
     Franklin, playwright Wilson, and 14 others, as well as the 
     Juilliard School for the performing arts, were awarded 
     national arts and humanities medals Wednesday, chosen by the 
     White House as American cultural treasures.
       The medals go to individuals or institutions supporting the 
     growth and availability of the arts and humanities to the 
     general public.
       ``It gives America a chance to recognize our sons and 
     daughters who have enriched our lives, made us laugh, made us 
     think, made us cry, lifted us up when we were down,'' Clinton 
     said at a White House dinner honoring the medal winners.
       Earlier in the day, Clinton referred to Keillor--a writer 
     and radio impresario best known for his public radio show, 
     ``A Prairie Home Companion''--as ``our modern-day Mark 
     Twain.''
       ``With imagination, wit and also with a steel trap mind and 
     deep conviction, Garrison Keillor has brought us together,'' 
     said the president.
       He said Keillor's humor and variety show about life in a 
     fictitious small town in Minnesota ``constantly reminds us 
     how we're all connected and how it ought to keep us a little 
     humble.''
       At a ceremony at Constitution Hall near the White House, 
     Clinton said this year's winners of the National Medal of 
     Arts and the National Humanities Medal ``defined in their own 
     unique ways a part of who we are as a people and what we're 
     about as a nation as we enter a new century and a new 
     millennium.''
       American Indian ballet dancer Maria Tallchief and folk 
     singer Odetta were among the musicians, writers and arts 
     patrons so honored this year.
       Odetta's 50 years of performing American folk and gospel 
     reminds ``us all that songs have the power to change the 
     heart and change the world,'' Clinton said.
       Tallchief helped put an American stamp on classical ballet, 
     until recent decades a primarily European discipline, Clinton 
     said.
       The 1999 winners of the National Medal of the Arts are:
       --Arts patron Irene Diamond, who gave more than $73 million 
     to the arts through foundations and personal gifts.
       --Franklin, the ``Queen of Soul'' who has won 17 Grammys.
       --Designer and architect Michael Graves, who created some 
     of century's most admired structures, including the Riverbend 
     Music Center in Cincinnati.
       --Odetta, the ``Queen of American Folk Music,'' who created 
     a groundbreaking sound with her voice and guitar.
       --The Juilliard School of performing arts in New York, 
     which includes among its alumni comedian-actor Robin 
     Williams, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and jazz and classical trumpeter 
     and composer Wynton Marsalis.
       --Writer and director Norman Lear, who created some of the 
     century's most popular television social comedies, including 
     ``All in the Family,'' ``Good Times'' and ``The Jeffersons.''
       --Actress and producer Rosetta LeNoire, who boasts a more 
     than 60-year career that includes numerous movies, Broadway 
     productions and TV shows, including ``Family Matters'' and 
     ``Amen.''
       --Arts administrator Harvey Lichtenstein, who was president 
     of the Brooklyn Academy of Music for 32 years and established 
     it as a leading arts center.
       --Singer Lydia Mendoza, who brought Mexican-American music 
     to the public's attention and became famous in Latin America 
     with her signature song, ``Mal Hombre.''
       --Sculptor George Segal, who made a career of sculpting 
     environments, including a life-sized bread line at the 
     Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington.
       --Tallchief, who was the New York City Ballet's longtime 
     prima ballerina.
       The 1999 winners of the National Humanities Medals are:
       --Librarian Patricia M. Battin, who organized a national 
     campaign to save millions of decaying books by putting their 
     content on microfilm.
       --Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and journalist Taylor 
     Branch, whose books, including ``Parting the Waters: America 
     in the King Years,'' made him an authority on the civil 
     rights movement.
       --New South scholar Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, who founded the 
     Southern Oral History Project at the University of North 
     Carolina-Chapel Hill.
       --Keillor, best-selling author and radio host of ``A 
     Prairie Home Companion.''
       --Television anchor and editor Jim Lehrer, host of a public 
     television news program named for him.
       --Political philosopher and author John Rawls, renowned for 
     his views on justice, basic rights and equal opportunity.
       --Academy Award-winning filmmaker Spielberg.
       --Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Wilson whose plays, 
     including ``The Piano Lesson'' and ``Fences,'' explore the 
     black experience in America. Wilson is formerly of St. Paul.

     

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