[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 79 (Monday, June 2, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1090]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING GUSTAVUS EVANSEN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. VITO FOSSELLA

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, June 2, 2003

  Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to take this opportunity to 
mention an exemplary Staten Islander, Mr. Gustavus Evansen. He embodies 
the hard work and determination that characterizes the American Dream.
  In 1923, at the age of 17, Gus Evansen emigrated to the United 
States, along with the rest of his family. They joined his father, 
Jorgen, who had traveled here to lay the foundations of a stable life 
for the family in 1917. He automatically began to work alongside his 
father at the Electric Launch Company, or Elco, in Bayonne, New Jersey, 
practicing the same shipbuilding trade his father had practiced in 
their homeland of Denmark. He and his father worked out of their own 
garage on nights and weekends to make ends meet during the Depression.
  Mr. Evansen was promoted to foreman of the hull-building department 
in 1939, and continued to work for the next 6 years on the 399 PT-boats 
that Elco made for our government's use in the Second World War. After 
the war, as the Elco Company scrambled for work while the government 
contracts waned, Mr. Evansen lost his job when Elco closed down for 
good in 1949. He wasted no time in beginning a new career with the U.S. 
Coast Guard. At the age of 70, after 25 years building workboats on 
Governor's Island, and after rising from the rank of third-class 
boatbuilder to assistant foreman, Gus Evansen finally retired.
  In 1930, he had married his childhood sweetheart, Bergit Knutsen who, 
with her family, had also emigrated from Denmark. They were together 
for 71 years until her death. Gus is currently 96 years old, and is 
enjoying his hard-earned retirement in Staten Island, New York. He has 
two daughters, five grandchildren, and six great grandchildren. Mr. 
Evansen has led the life of a model citizen, has worked hard to make a 
life for his family, and is the true embodiment of the American Dream.
  Mr. Evansen, thank you for being a model citizen, and a proud Staten 
Islander.

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