[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 119 (Wednesday, September 3, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S11027]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 WALTER ``SALTY'' BRINE'S 85TH BIRTHDAY

 Mr. REED. Mr. President, on August 5, 2003, an icon in my home 
State of Rhode Island celebrated his 85th birthday. Walter ``Salty'' 
Brine was hired by WPRO-AM in 1942 and took over as morning host in 
1943 where he stayed for 50 years.
  Salty entertained Rhode Islanders on radio and television with his 
enthusiasm, family friendly programming and his love for Rhode Island 
and its coastline. In fact, it is his love for the water which earned 
him the nickname ``Salty.'' But, Salty's contribution to Rhode Island 
has been more than just entertainment. He has been a consistent 
supporter of charitable organizations and an inspiration for the 
disabled.
  Brine has been a role model for Rhode Islanders and has been named a 
member of the National Commission for the March of Dimes, National 
Commission on Muscular Dystrophy, and both the President's and Rhode 
Island's committees on the employment of the handicapped. He has been a 
supporter of the Meeting Street School for Crippled Children and the 
Rhode Island Association for Retarded Children. Brine was named the 
recipient of the 1999 Nellie A. Greenwood Humanitarian Award and 
numerous other honors have been bestowed on Salty by organizations such 
as the Cranston Jaycees, Rhode Island Big Brother, Veterans of Foreign 
Wars and American Legion.
  Brine lent his support to the Lt. Governor's Rhode Island Fights Back 
Program that asked the public to help support local businesses that 
suffered after September 11.
  Brine's love for the water has led to his involvement in the 
preservation of State beaches and waterways. He is on the Board of 
Trustees of Save the Bay and in 1990, a State beach was named in his 
honor.
  As an on air personality it was Salty's folksy, contagious enthusiasm 
that endeared him to the Rhode Island public. Almost every lifelong 
Rhode Islander, young and old, can remember Brine's winter storm school 
closings announcements, highlighted by a line that has become a unique 
part of Rhode Island culture, ``No school Foster-Glocester!''
  Brine dominated morning radio on WPRO for decades and he remained a 
ratings winner until he left WPRO in 1993, though he continued to make 
the famous school closing announcements from home during snowy Rhode 
Island winters. WPRO's broadcast center is now named after him.
  I first glimpsed Salty back in the 1950s when he came to visit his 
son, Wally, at St. Matthew's School in Cranston. Wally and I were grade 
school classmates. Salty was the first ``celebrity'' I ever saw in 
person. Almost 50 years later, he's still the best as well as the 
first.
  In the early days of television Brine developed ``Salty Brine's 
Shack,'' a children's show that ran on Channel 12 from 1958 to 1968. 
Many still remember Brine closing the show telling kids to ``Brush your 
teeth and say your prayers.''
  Rhode Island has certainly been lucky to have Salty Brine and in an 
interview with the Providence Journal Brine expressed a mutual love, 
``I've been very lucky,'' he said. ``I've had the most wonderful 
association with the State of Rhode Island anyone could ever 
have.''

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