[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 139 (Thursday, October 14, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2093]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO MURIEL WATSON

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DUNCAN HUNTER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 14, 1999

  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the outstanding 
service and dedication of a hometown heroine from my district, Mrs. 
Muriel Watson. On November 4, 1989, Mrs. Watson assembled a group of 
people with 23 cars on Dairy Mart Road where they turned on their 
headlights and shined them into Mexico for a half-hour as a protest 
against illegal drugs and aliens coming into California from across the 
border. Mrs. Watson's late husband had been a Border Patrol agent for 
30 years.
  The enthusiasm of the participants made this event such a success 
that Mrs. Watson began to distribute flyers to friends, and friends of 
friends. On December 10, 1989, Mrs. Watson held another ``Light Up the 
Border'' with 60 cars, and the following month over 100 cars 
participated. The event was featured on the Roger Hedgecock radio show 
and in February, over 200 cars took part and in March over 1,000 cars 
showed up. By this time, Mrs. Watson was providing participants with 
printed instructions, asking them to stay in their cars for 45 minutes, 
turn on their lights for 30 minutes and then turn them off.
  At about this same time, we were able to obtain an engineering unit 
from the California National Guard to work on border enforcement 
projects. This unit, under the direction of Captain Wade Rowley, began 
building several roads and a 10-foot high steel fence made of surplus 
steel landing mats. This fence was successful in stopping drive-
throughs by drug smugglers and illegal aliens, but did not prevent 
several people from crawling under, or climbing over the barricade. It 
was then that Mrs. Watson's event was brought to my attention by my 
District Deputy Chief of Staff, Cato Cedillo, and I felt that her 
concept should be applied on the border on a more permanent basis. 
Consequently, we have added lights, sensors, and other detection 
devices to assist the Border Patrol agents with their responsibilities.
  Before her work with ``Light Up the Border'', Mrs. Watson started a 
scholarship fund in 1982 for children of Border Patrol agents, 
providing two $500 scholarships herself out of her own funds. Impressed 
with her commitment, I wanted to help this effort and in 1994 began to 
auction off signed lithographs of Olaf Weighost pictures with the 
proceeds going to the Watson Fund.
  Mr. Speaker, in a time where apathy is the common attitude towards 
most of our problems, Mrs. Watson is a shining example of how one 
person can make a difference. Mrs. Watson not only created ``Light Up 
the Border'', but she herself lights up any gathering she attends.

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