[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 36 (Tuesday, March 28, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E428]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO WALTER JEBE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 28, 2006

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Walter G. Jebe, a 
longtime community leader, businessman and historian, who died of 
leukemia in the Veterans Hospital in Palo Alto on Feb. 25th at the age 
of 81. The unofficial mayor of San Francisco's Excelsior district, Mr. 
Jebe was a champion of small business and for his neighborhood and an 
outspoken advocate and historian. He has left an indelible mark on our 
city.
  Mr. Jebe was born in 1924, raised in the Excelsior District, 
graduated from Balboa High School, studied photography at Samuel 
Gompers trade school and was drafted into the Army. After serving our 
Nation, Mr. Jebe returned to San Francisco and opened Jebe's Cameras on 
Mission Street. He was a self-taught businessman, and neighboring 
businesses took bets on how long he would last. He stayed in business 
for 45 years.
  All politics was local to Mr. Jebe, who was a member of the Excelsior 
Business Association, the Geneva Excelsior Lions Club, the Boy Scouts, 
and other organizations he felt would improve the Excelsior. He also 
served on a number of San Francisco city commissions, including the 
Delinquency Prevention Commission, the Library Commission and the Arts 
Commission. He helped secure a branch of the public library for the 
Excelsior, and last year wrote a book about the history of the 
neighborhood.
  Walter Jebe was a respected authority on San Francisco history and 
taught courses throughout San Francisco. He collected vast quantities 
of photos and memorabilia on the San Francisco Mid Winter Fair of 1894, 
the Pan Pacific Exhibition of 1915, the 1939 World's Fair and the 1906 
Earthquake and Fire.
  As a prominent member of the San Francisco History Association, he 
headed the task force that negotiated a deal for the Federal Government 
to turn over the Old Mint at Fifth and Mission streets to a nonprofit 
organization to become a history museum. The Old Mint is a San 
Francisco architectural gem that survived the 1906 Earthquake and Fire 
and played a vital role in rebuilding the city. A member of the Old 
Mint Advisory Council, Mr. Jebe was responsible for overseeing the 
restoration project.
  With great appreciation for his fine work and service to our city, I 
extend my deepest sympathy to his wife of 53 years, Vivian Jebe, his 
son Walter and daughter Vivian, and thank them, for sharing their 
magnificent husband and father with us. He was a true San Francisco 
treasure and we are diminished by his passing.

                          ____________________