[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 131 (Tuesday, November 16, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1996]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          PAYING TRIBUTE TO PALISADE LIONS CLUB STILT WALKERS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. SCOTT McINNIS

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 16, 2004

  Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the Palisade Lions 
Club stilt walkers who have walked in parades all over the country, to 
bring attention to the Colorado peach industry and the benevolent goals 
of the Colorado Lions Club. Their efforts continue to distinguish the 
heritage of Palisade, Colorado and a statue to commemorate the walkers 
was recently dedicated to the town on its centennial anniversary. It is 
my privilege in recognizing their accomplishments before this body of 
Congress and this Nation.
  The original five stilt walkers included Gene Taylor, Ray Denison, 
Bob Ames, and Hampton and Lyndon Granat. The stilts were functionally 
used to prune the higher sections of fruit trees, but after their first 
appearance in a parade in 1955 they became the symbol of the Lions Club 
International and the Colorado peach industry. Together the stilt 
walkers and their wives made their own costumes and traveled to parades 
in Chicago, New York City, and numerous local Colorado events, grabbing 
the attention of newspapers all across the country.
  Mr. Speaker, the original stilt walkers of the Palisade Lions Club 
have since passed away, but their memory lives on in the community and 
the peach industry as the town of Palisade celebrates its centennial 
this year. I am honored to stand before this body of Congress and this 
Nation and recognize their unique heritage.

                          ____________________