[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 100 (Thursday, July 27, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1388]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


      TO COMMEMORATE THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE HUNTSVILLE ITEM

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                            HON. JIM TURNER

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 27, 2000

  Mr. TURNER. Mr. Speaker, I have a special opportunity today to honor 
the Huntsville Item, a fine newspaper in East Texas, which will be 
celebrating its 150th birthday on August 18.
  The Huntsville Item is the second oldest continually published 
newspaper in the state of Texas. Over the last century and a half, it 
has reported the everyday challenges facing East Texans, as well as the 
triumphs and tragedies of our great nation.
  The Huntsville Item began publication in Huntsville, Texas on August 
20 1850, under the editorship of George Robinson, who was born in 
Liverpool, England. From 1863-1864, during Robinson's enlistment in the 
Civil War, the Item was irregularly published due to Robinson's war 
duties and scarce supplies.
  A fire destroyed the printing house of the Item on May 4, 1878, and 
the paper had to be printed several blocks away. But again, six years 
later, fire struck down the printing house, interrupting the Item's 
distribution for several weeks while printing was relocated to nearby 
Willis. Later that year, George's youngest son, Fred, took over 
management of the paper, moving all its operations back into 
Huntsville.
  For several years early in the twentieth century, the Huntsville Item 
operated as the Huntsville Post-Item under publisher J.A. Palmer. In 
1915, the paper was sold to Ross Woodall, who, along with his wife, 
published the paper until 1967.
  The Item is currently owned by Community Holdings Newspapers, Inc.
  The faded headlines of this newspaper tell the story of our nation's 
history.
  Through the Civil War, two World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, the Persian 
Gulf, and Kosovo, the Item relayed news of brave American soldiers to 
their parents, siblings, and loved ones. Its newsprint has captured the 
Great Depression, the Baby Boom, the Oil Rush, the S&L crash, and the 
digital revolution. Its columns have examined Nolan Ryan, Willie 
Nelson, LBJ and Sam Rayburn.
  I congratulate all the editors, photographers, and reporters who have 
made this newspaper last through the test of time. Even after four 
fires and other challenges, the paper has survived and flourished.
  I hope that the stories it reports in the next hundred and fifty 
years will mirror the same growth, progress, and success that our 
nation has experienced since its first copy, published in 1850.

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