[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 100 (Wednesday, July 18, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1349]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E1349]]



                 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF PEMBERVILLE, OHIO

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 17, 2001

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize a significant milestone 
for a community in my district. Pemberville, Ohio celebrates its 125th 
anniversary this year. The town recently celebrated the 125th 
anniversary of its incorporation, which took place on June 8, 1876.
  The fertile farmland region in Wood County, Ohio was home to 
pioneering settlers for three generations prior to the establishment of 
Pemberville--first known as the forks because it was near a fork in the 
river--in 1854. Well before Pemberville became a town, William Henry 
Harrison made his camp at the site--which was strategically situated on 
the Portage River--during the War of 1812. Later, many families found 
it desirable and by the time it was incorporated in 1876, the town grew 
from a crossroads for fur traders and a few adventurous farmers into a 
viable community. Upon incorporation, it became known as Pemberville, 
named for one of its founders, James Pember.
  The town further prospered when railroad lines were completed in 1875 
and oil was discovered in 1881. In fact, only a year after being 
formally incorporated, Pemberville boasted a population of 500. Those 
earliest citizens were united in their effort to establish Pemberville 
as a regional hub, and its prime location on the river, along with the 
development of both roads and rail, helped the growth.
  Pemberville became home to many churches and businesses and provided 
a well-developed school system. Today it remains a vibrant community, 
rich in tradition, with a small-town, folksy feel. It is a community 
looking forward while proud of its past. It moves forward through the 
seasons, adjusting to fit the times, but never losing the essence of 
the best of small town America: neighborliness, friendliness, and a 
timeless quality.
  Oliver Wendell Holmes said ``Where we love is home, home that our 
feet may leave, but not our hearts.'' Pemberville is a town that 
illustrates this sentiment: Though many of its sons and daughters have 
traveled far afield, often settling elsewhere, still that inexorable 
feeling of community and home brings them back time and again, whether 
it is in fact or in mind. I know that they, along with the citizens who 
assembled at this year's sesquicentennial, are proud of Pemberville and 
proud of its journey through the past to the present. I am pleased to 
join those who gather at this 125th anniversary celebration to 
celebrate that past even as we see a vision of Pemberville's future.

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