[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 170 (Friday, November 21, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2377-E2378]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              ESTABLISHING NATIONAL AVIATION HERITAGE AREA

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. NANCY L. JOHNSON

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 18, 2003

  Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of 
H.R. 280 the National Aviation Heritage Area Act which includes in 
Title VI the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area Act. The 
Upper Housatonic Valley, encompassing 29 towns in the hilly terrain of 
western Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut, is a singular 
geographical and cultural region that has made significant national 
contributions through its literacy, artistic, musical, and 
architectural achievements, its iron, paper, and electrical equipment 
industries and its scenic beautification and environmental conservation 
efforts.
  The Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area would extend from 
Lanesboro, Massachusetts 60 miles north to Kent, Connecticut. This 
region of New England is home to many of the Nation's first industrial 
iron sites. The iron produced at these sites was used to make weapons 
for the Revolutionary War. Furthermore, the area includes homes of 
historical significance belonging to Edith Wharton and author Herman 
Melville as well as the Monument Mountain Reservation, where Melville 
and Nathaniel Hawthorne picnicked. The area also has great outdoor 
recreational resources and is the base for much of Connecticut's agri-
tourism business.
  From the 1730s to the 1920s, it was home to many of the Nation's 
earliest iron industries. The first blast furance was built in 1762 by 
Ethan Allen and supplied the iron for the cannons that helped George 
Washington's army to win the American Revolutionary War. While most of 
the furnaces, mine sites and charcoal pits have been lost to 
development and time, the few that remain are in need of refurbishment. 
The Beckley Furnace in Canaan, Connecticut was designated an official 
project by the Millennium Committee to Save America's Treasures.
  The Valley's history as a cultural retreat from the Boston and New 
York areas provides both past and current riches for the country. Since 
the 1930s visitors from all over have come to hear the music at 
Tanglewood, Music Mountain and Norfolk, see the paintings at the Norman 
Rockwell Museum, watch serious theater at Stockbridge and musical 
treats at Sharon. Today's local authors draw on a long tradition going 
back to the 19th century, when Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne and 
Edith Wharton lived and wrote here. The Upper Housatonic Area, with its 
remoteness from but ties to large cities, occupy a special niche in our 
national culture.
  The Housatonic Valley is also rich with environmental and 
recreational treasures. The Housatonic River, just below Falls Village, 
Connecticut, is one of the prized fly-fishing centers in the Northeast 
and is enjoyed by fisherman from not only Connecticut and Massachusetts 
but the entire eastern seaboard. Olympic rowers have trained in this 
river as children have learned to swim, boat and fish and value its 
ecosystem.
  Through this broad, flexible and locally led initiative, the states 
of Connecticut and Massachusetts will be able to make real progress in 
protecting the river and its heritage. Rather than depending on the 
Federal bureaucracy, States will be able to facilitate locally led, and 
truly voluntary programs that will help protect the river for future 
generations. This legislation encompassing all heritage areas has broad 
bipartisan support, I would like to thank the Resources Committee for 
bringing this legislation forward and I encourage my colleagues to 
support this legislation.

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