[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 126 (Thursday, October 7, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1835]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  PAYING TRIBUTE TO MARGRET MERGELMAN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. SCOTT McINNIS

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 6, 2004

  Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Margret 
Mergelman, a dedicated leader and 4-H activist from Gunnison, Colorado. 
For over sixty-four years, Margret has volunteered to better her 
community, and I am honored to stand before this body of Congress and 
this Nation today to recognize her service.
  Margret earned her elementary education degree in 1943 from Western 
State College and that same year married Warren Mergelman, whose family 
has ranched the Gunnison area for generations. Margret accompanied her 
husband on the long cattle drives for local area ranchers. After the 
couple started a family she focused her attention on homemaking skills, 
especially cooking. When the kids became active in 4-H, she started a 
cooking club, in addition to sewing, gardening, and square-dancing 
clubs. She herself was a 4-H leader for ten years. Margret's cooking is 
legendary and her open-house lunch after the Cattlemen's Days parade 
has drawn more than one hundred people in the past. Today Margret is 
still active in the rural community, donating cash gifts to the local 
4-H and annually sponsoring the Mergelman Family Award to competitors 
of the Round Robin Showmanship. She has also been a member of the 
Eastern Star for sixty-two years.
  Mr. Speaker, Margret Mergelman, is a dedicated individual who devotes 
her free time to aiding members of her Gunnison community and works to 
preserve Colorado's western style and heritage. Her level of enthusiasm 
and commitment is commendable and I am honored to stand here before 
this body and recognize the efforts of such a selfless and benevolent 
woman. Thanks for all your service Margret, and I wish you all the best 
in your future endeavors.

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