[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 68 (Tuesday, June 6, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E899]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      COCOA BEACH 75TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DAVE WELDON

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 6, 2000

  Mr. WELDON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, seventy-five years ago this month 
a very special place in American history was founded. That special 
place is the town of Cocoa Beach, Florida.
  We all know that America was created out of the spirit of 
frontierism. Bold men and women shook off the shackles of oppression 
and set forth to a new world of opportunity and adventure. Today we all 
know about Plymouth Rock and its significance in our nation's history.
  America is still the land of frontier explorers and furthering the 
promise of freedom and adventure. I am proud to represent a town that 
has been the Plymouth Rock to the stars, Cocoa Beach.
  Founded 75 years ago, what started out as a small, agrarian town 
enjoyed a pleasant, but sleepy existence. That solitude and quiet was 
interrupted with the introduction of the U.S. military's ballistic 
missile program after World War II.
  Suddenly, Cocoa Beach became home for many rocket engineers, 
scientists and their families who came to Florida to help the United 
States win the Cold War. That work was only a small taste of the 
exciting future which was to come.
  Soon the United States found that it was in our nation's military and 
economic national interests to have the capability to put people and 
objects into orbit. NASA was created and soon Cape Canaveral was 
selected to be the prime location for NASA's space launch activities. 
This resulted in Cocoa Beach's coming of age as a modern, thriving town 
on the cusp of a new age in human history.
  Through Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, Space Shuttle and 
International Space Station, Cocoa Beach has been there through it all. 
Its dynamic people striving to lead the next age of exploration into 
the new frontier.
  Many feel that without frontiers and boundaries to push against, 
America stops being what America is all about. As long as we have 
cities like Cocoa Beach leading the charge into space, America's 
promise of freedom will continue into the stars.

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