[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 6 (Tuesday, January 27, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H115-H116]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO MONTEREY CITY COUNCILWOMAN RUTH VREELAND
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentleman from California (Mr. Farr) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight in these hallowed halls of
Congress to pay tribute to a colleague in public service, Monterey City
Councilwoman Ruth Vreeland, killed in an automobile accident on Highway
101 in southern Monterey County just this last Sunday.
What a loss. This 68-year-old woman had the energy of 100
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, and 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 there, Dick Vreeland, and then continued on to the
University of San Francisco to earn a master's degree in organizational
development.
In 1956, she moved to 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
the waterfront buildings so that people could see the Bay where
California began. She replaced the buildings with parks and
recreational trails, the now highly successful Window on the Bay
Project.
[[Page H116]]
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, the 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, the Monterey Peninsula Concert Association and
the Winnie the Pooh Chapter of the Children's Home Society.
{time} 1930
She was involved in various organizations.
Tonight, in paying tribute, I would also like to recognize my
colleague, the minority leader of the United States House of
Representatives, the gentlewoman from San Francisco, California (Ms.
Pelosi).
Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I want to join our distinguished colleague,
the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr), in paying tribute to Ruth
Vreeland. I thank him, as one who admired her on behalf of so many who
learned from her over the years, for my colleague's magnificent tribute
to her, which I know he has not finished. I will not take a lot of time
because I know he needs the time to put the full tribute into the
Record.
As one who worked with her for over 25 years in the California
Democratic Party, I know of her love of country. She was a true
patriot. She loved our country. She loved its people. She loved its
natural environment. She loved our civil liberties. She was a model
citizen.
My daughter Christine, I know, would want to join with me, who worked
with her on the platform committee, in expressing our sympathies to her
family in saying that we will remember her with great affection,
admiration, and respect.
I thank the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Farr) and
thank him for his leadership in presenting the very, very excellent
credentials of Ms. Vreeland to our colleagues.
Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms.
Pelosi) for joining us. I know her family and all her friends and
people in elected government will be so touched because she was a big
admirer of the gentlewoman. My colleague led the way for women in
politics.
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. The Monterey Rotary named her an
Outstanding Teacher. Furthermore, the Fisherman's Wharf named her the
Wharf Rat of the Year in 1995. The California Democratic Party
recognized her for outstanding services. 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. Finally, the Association of Monterey Bay
Area Governments recognized her for 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 the next 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 Meslissa. Among
the three of them, they have seven of Ruth and Dick's grandchildren.
Ruth and Dick's home blended the elements of Ruth Vreeland's youth in
China with Japanese culture that Dick Vreeland picked up in the Army.
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.
She cooked Chinese food and raised the children to use chopsticks. A
proud naturalized citizen from Canada, Vreeland 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.
Vreeland also continued to tackle 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 with the Association of Monterey Bay Area
Governments and the League of California Cities.
Vreeland 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.
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