[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 6 (Tuesday, January 27, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E53]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       IN MEMORY OF RUTH VREELAND

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 27, 2004

  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight in the hallowed halls of 
Congress to pay tribute to a colleague in public service, Monterey City 
Councilwoman Ruth Vreeland, who was killed in an auto accident on 
Highway 101 in Southern Monterey County.
  What a loss! This 68-year-old woman had the energy of one hundred 
locomotives. Involved in everything--teacher, statewide education 
activist, 20 year City Councilwoman, statewide League of Cities 
Activist, Democratic Party Activist, mother, member of various boards. 
. . . She was always there, always prepared, always wanting to do more.
  Born in Chunking, China, she grew up in Szechwan province where her 
parents worked as medical missionaries. Returning to Toronto, Canada in 
1940, and moving to San Francisco where her parents taught at the 
University of California-Berkeley, Ruth earned a bachelor's degree in 
arts and education from San Francisco State University. She also met 
her husband, Dick Vreeland, there and then continued on to the 
University of San Francisco to earn a Master's Degree in organization 
development.
  In 1956, she moved to the Monterey Peninsula to teach school, and was 
elected to the Monterey City Council with the intention of protecting 
the quality of life in the City of Monterey. ``This town is more than 
buildings and streets, first it is people,'' she wrote in her campaign 
statement. She championed the tearing down of waterfront buildings so 
that people could see the Bay where California began. She replaced 
buildings with parks and recreational trails, now the highly successful 
``Window on the Bay Project.''
  She served in a variety of leadership positions including the League 
of California Cities Board of Directors, Institute for Local Self-
Government, the 20th District Parent-Teacher Association, Monterey Bay 
Task Force, Quota International, Women in Municipal Government; Friends 
Outside of the Monterey County, and the Overall Economic Development 
Committee of Monterey County. She was also a Volunteers in Action Board 
Member, a Monterey City Council member since 1983, an alternate in the 
Monterey Bay Sanctuary Advisory Council and a former president of the 
Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG), the Monterey 
Peninsula Concert Association and the Winnie the Pooh Chapter of the 
Children's Home Society.
  She was also involved with various organizations, including the 
Monterey Vista Homeowners Association, Community of Caring, League of 
Women Voters, American Association of University Women, California 
Teachers Association, Monterey Bay Teachers Association, Responsible 
Hospitality, California Elected Women's Association for Education and 
Research, Monterey Main Street Program, National Organization of Women, 
Old Monterey Preservation Society, Sierra Club, ACLU, State Theater 
Preservation Group, Monterey Civic Club, Monterey History and Art 
Association, American Association for Retired Persons, California 
Retired Teachers' Association, and the Unitarian Church.

  Throughout her life, many of these organizations honored her 
outstanding commitment and service to our Bay community with awards. 
The Volunteers in Action honored her community service, the Sierra Club 
honored her for Outstanding Achievement, Planned Parenthood named her 
an Outstanding Woman in Politics, and the Monterey Rotary named her an 
Outstanding Teacher. Furthermore, the Fisherman's Wharf named her Wharf 
Rat of the Year in 1995, the California Democratic Party recognized her 
for Outstanding Service, J.C. Penney gave her the Golden Rule Award and 
the Old Monterey Business Association recognized her for Exceptional 
Dedication. The Monterey Civic Club honored her for being a Community 
Volunteer and finally, the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments 
recognized her for her 20 years of service.
  As I mentioned earlier, and as you can see from this lengthy list of 
accomplishments, Ruth was always moving, always involved. Her friends 
wondered if she ever had time to sleep. She adored her family and 
always seemed to be on her way to visit a child. In fact, the tragic 
accident that led to her death occurred as she returned from visiting 
one of her three daughters, Lauren, Amy and Melissa. Between the three 
of them they have seven of Ruth and Dick's grandchildren.
  Ruth and Dick's home blended elements of Ruth Vreeland's youth in 
China with the Japanese culture that Dick Vreeland picked up in the 
Army. She cooked Chinese food and raised the children to use 
chopsticks. A proud naturalized citizen from Canada, Ruth also 
instilled civic values in her daughters. ``She believed in this country 
because she was naturalized in it and she taught me what patriotism 
is,'' her daughter said.
  Throughout her life, Ruth tackled the large-scale problems that had 
always energized her. The Sierra Club recognized her in the 1980's for 
fighting offshore drilling and sewage spills. She traveled to 
Sacramento and Washington to promote education and local government, 
rising to leadership roles I previously mentioned with the Association 
of Monterey Bay Area Governments and the League of California Cities.
  Ruth was active in Democratic Party politics and was not afraid to 
bring progressive political causes to Monterey. She challenged the city 
in 1988 for not having enough women and minorities in management 
positions, and a decade later she discouraged the council from 
subsidizing the Boy Scouts because of its exclusionary policies toward 
gays.
  In the months before her death, Vreeland's last big project was 
saving education and local government in the face of California's 
budget crisis, a problem epic enough to discourage even the most ardent 
community activist.
  But not Ruth Vreeland.
  America will miss her. She came to this country to do good--we are 
all better for it and will miss her forever.

                          ____________________