[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 142 (Tuesday, October 19, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12842-S12843]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 205--DESIGNATING THE WEEK OF EACH NOVEMBER IN WHICH 
  THE HOLIDAY OF THANKSGIVING IS OBSERVED AS ``NATIONAL FAMILY WEEK''

  Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Torricelli, and Mr. Lugar) 
submitted the following resolution; which wa referred to the Committee 
on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 205

       Whereas the family is the basic strength of any free and 
     orderly society;
       Whereas it is appropriate to honor the family unit as 
     essential to the continued well-being of the United States; 
     and
       Whereas it is fitting that official recognition be given to 
     the importance of family loyalties and ties: Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates the week of each November in which the 
     holiday of Thanksgiving is observed as ``National Family 
     Week''; and
       (2) requests that the President issue each year a 
     proclamation--
       (A) designating the week of each November in which the 
     holiday of Thanksgiving is observed as ``National Family 
     Week''; and
       (B) calling on the people of the United States to observe 
     ``National Family Week'' with appropriate ceremonies and 
     activities.
 Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I come before you today to submit 
a resolution which would designate the week of each November in which 
the holiday of Thanksgiving is observed as ``National Family Week.'' 
Each Congress since 1976 has passed legislation which established 
Family Week on a bi-annual basis, and I have been a frequent cosponsor 
of it. In fact, last Congress, I was the sponsor of the legislation, 
and am pleased to be able to further contribute to this longstanding 
tradition of recognizing the importance of family.
  This Congress, however, I would like to pay special tribute to the 
hard work of the man who founded the idea of Family Week, Mr. Sam 
Wiley. Ever since 1971, Mr. Wiley worked hard to see that Family Week 
was recognized on every Thanksgiving in every state, and by every 
president. Unfortunately, however, Mr. Wiley passed away in December 
after a long battle with cancer. Remarkably, even during this fight 
with the painful and deadly disease, Mr. Wiley was more concerned with 
making sure Family Week continue, as it was his constant vigilance that 
kept the idea and spirit of Family Week alive year after year.
  A friend, Mr. Noel Duerden, has said that Mr. Wiley's greatest desire 
was to make sure that after he died Family Week would still live on. As 
a tribute to Mr. Wiley, my legislation will guarantee that Family Week 
continues by making it permanent. The resolution I am submitting today 
will ensure that every year the President will issue a proclamation 
dedicating the week of the Thanksgiving holiday as Family Week.
  As we all know, the family is the most basic element of our society, 
and the tie that binds us to one another. It is the strength of any 
free and orderly society and it is appropriate to honor this unit as 
being essential to the well-being of the United States.
  Since Family Week will be observed during the weeks on which 
Thanksgiving falls, we will be paying homage to what we as a nation 
already know--the strength of the family provides the support through 
which we as individuals and a nation thrive. Therefore it is 
particularly suitable to pause during this special week in recognition 
of the celebrations and activities of the family which bring us closer 
together.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in this effort and ask that an 
article from the Indianapolis Star about Mr. Wiley and Family Week be 
placed in the Record.
  The article follows:

            Founder Wants To Make Sure Family Week Continues

                           (By John Strauss)

       He founded National Family Week, but on a day when so many 
     families were together for the holiday, Sam Wiley found it 
     hard to say much.
       ``I've seen better days,'' he said Friday from a bed at St. 
     Vincent Hospice.
       Wiley, 72, is in the terminal stages of pancreatic and 
     liver cancer, but he is less concerned about his personal 
     situation than making sure the National Family Week movement 
     continues.
       Ever since he started it in 1971, the week has been 
     recognized each Thanksgiving by every president and in every 
     state through proclamations, seminars and other activities 
     designed to recognize the importance of strong families.
       Wiley's movement has a Web page, www.familyweek.org. The 
     former Whiteland High School administrator, teacher and 
     basketball coach, who retired in 1988, has worked tirelessly 
     to promote the week as a way to strengthen the regard and 
     support for families.
       Along the way, he made 25 trips to Washington. His room at 
     the hospice has photos on the wall of Wiley with presidents 
     Ronald Reagan and George Bush, and with former Vice President 
     Dan Quayle as the proclamations for National Family Week were 
     signed over the years.
       Wiley never married, but he came to believe in the 
     importance of families through his work with students, said 
     Rush Isenhour, a childhood friend from their days in Boone 
     County.
       Isenhour was at Wiley's bedside on Friday, as her friend, 
     who is heavily medicated for pain, drifted in and out of 
     consciousness. Wiley's friends said he does not have long to 
     live.
       ``He was a schoolteacher and he had so many children from 
     underprivileged families,'' Isenhour said. ``He heard them 
     talking about their family life, and that got him to thinking 
     about it, and it got him started.''
       Noel Duerden, a friend who helped Wiley over the years, 
     said he and others are trying to find other groups to carry 
     on the organizational work. One of the biggest tasks is 
     writing and calling governors across the country to get them 
     to issue proclamations which are only good for a year.
       ``Everybody's interested in National Family Week, but 
     nobody's taking the lead except Sam at this point,'' Duerden 
     said.
       ``His greatest desire before he dies is to make sure this 
     continues,'' he said. ``Not just the proclamations, which are 
     a heavy amount of work, but to promote it with the 
     organizations and get right down to families.''
       Duerden said he has been talking with the National Urban 
     League, the American Legion, Girl Scouts and other groups to 
     find support for continuing the annual observance.
       Judy Lifferth is coordinator of National Family Week 
     activities in Columbus, where ``Families of the Year'' are 
     recognized for sticking together and supporting each other in 
     the face of difficulties.
       This year's program also included training in Active 
     Parenting, a six-session video and discussion course that 
     focuses on communication and other parenting skills.
       ``We live a fast-lane life, and National Family Week gives 
     people a chance in the

[[Page S12843]]

     middle of their busy lives and realize how important their 
     families are,'' Lifferth said.
       The Columbus mother of five has worked on National Family 
     Week activities for 10 years but didn't realize until 
     recently that the founder lived just up I-65 from her.
       ``I wish there was a way I could meet him,'' she said.
       ``I would like to tell him thank you from the bottom of my 
     heart.''

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