[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 81 (Tuesday, June 18, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1088]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO MILLIE BENSON

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                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 18, 2002

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in sad acknowledgment of the 
passing from this life of a national heroine and true Toledo treasure. 
Millie Benson, author of the original Nancy Drew series of books and 
lifelong adventurer, passed away on Tuesday, May 28, 2002 the age of 96 
years. She had spent the day at her desk at The Blade newspaper 
completing her regular column. That last column, published on May 29, 
2002, discussed the history and importance of the public library 
system. It is a fitting end to the storied career of a woman who 
inspired a lifelong passion for reading, as she herself had, in 
generations of youngsters.
  Millie Benson was born in the town of Ladora, Iowa to Dr. J.L. and 
Lillian Augustine on July 10, 1905. In addition to being a voracious 
reader, she also excelled at athletics. She pursued both while a 
student at the University of Iowa, where she was a champion diver, a 
reporter for the local newspaper, and a published author. Her first 
story was published in 1919 in The Nicholas Magazine of New York. It 
was when completing her Master's Degree that she began her famous book 
series, and under a pen name wrote the first 23 books of the Nancy Drew 
mysteries. Paid little and required to sign away the rights, Mildred 
Benson remained in obscurity as the books' author until a legal battle 
in 1983 revealed her identity.
  In the meantime, Mildred Benson, who had married Asa Wirt in 1928, 
kept busy with many other pursuits including the writing of several 
other series for children and novels, obtaining both commercial and 
instrument rated private pilot licenses (in her sixties!), and 
traveling into such remote outposts as the jungles of Mexico and South 
America and archeological sites in Central America, where she pursued 
her hobby exploring Mayan civilization. After Mr. Wirt's passing, in 
1950 she married George Benson. Mr. Benson was editor of the Toledo 
Times newspaper. Thus began her revived career as a reporter. When the 
Toledo Times ceased publication in 1959, she began working for The 
Blade.
  The 1990s brought her renewed acclaim as the author of the Nancy Drew 
series. Although in her eighties and nineties, she was a guest of many 
national and worldwide conferences, publications, and televised 
broadcasts. In 1993, she was the feature of the University of Iowa's 
Nancy Drew conference. Recognized by her alma mater not only for her 
journalism, she was also remembered as the first woman to receive a 
master's degree in journalism from that institution, an accomplishment 
she achieved in 1927. She was inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of 
Fame and received her alma mater's highest alumni award. Other 
recognitions included lifetime achievement awards from the Ohio 
Newspaper Women (1997) and The Blade (1999), an honorary Doctor of 
Letters Degree from Adrian College in Michigan (1999), and the Ohio 
Library Association's recognition of her ``distinguished and creative 
contributions to children's literature'' (1989). Even while living this 
full and creative life, Millie Benson never forgot her fans. She 
answered every single letter, honored each request for an autograph, 
and always had time to talk to her fans.
  Everyday of Mildred Benson's life was spent living to life's absolute 
fullest. Her example inspired those around her. Her unflagging 
enthusiasm for her chosen profession was infectious and her zest for 
life unsurpassed. Perhaps Blade publisher John R. Block summarized her 
best, saying ``Millie Benson was one of the greatest women writers and 
journalists of the 20th century. She was gutsy and daring, a living 
embodiment of her Nancy Drew heroine.'' Our deepest condolences go now 
to her daughter Peggy. Yet Mildred Benson's lasting legacy remains 
through her books and the millions of lives her writing and her life 
have influenced.
  In a 1973 issue of Books At Iowa describing her career, Millie Benson 
wrote of writing for the ages and not just a place in time, but her 
essay ``The Ghost of Ladora'' is actually the finest tribute to her 
life's passage, ``So now it is time for the final chapter, seemingly 
one destined from the beginning. A fadeout becomes the most difficult 
of all, for the story is finished, the reader led to believe that the 
very best lies directly ahead. New worlds to conquer! New horizons to 
explore! . . . and all the pilots of fantasy suddenly take shape before 
our eyes, their waggling wings flashing the personal message: `Come fly 
with me.' Such challenge cannot be denied. Work forgotten, we hasten to 
the nearby airport where a small plane awaits its all-too-willing 
passenger. Eagerly we take off, climbing high above the smog, the petty 
perplexities of life. The sky is blue. The wind blows free, Here at 
last, far above the earth, age and youth imperceptibly blend, and stem 
reality dissolves into the ultimate Magnificent Dream.''

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