[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 134 (Thursday, December 7, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S11486]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO FRANK C. FIALA

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I rise today to honor Frank Fiala, 
superintendent of the Keweenaw National Historical Park. After nearly 
32 years of Federal service, Frank will be retiring in January. Frank's 
service to our country began in the U.S. Air Force where he worked as a 
medic from 1969 to 1973. His career then transitioned to the National 
Park Service, where he has worked to protect our country's natural and 
historic treasures and to make them available for the public's 
enjoyment and appreciation. Frank's National Park Service career 
included assignments at the Lake Clark National Park and Preserve in 
Alaska, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska, Rocky 
Mountain National Park in Colorado, Carlsbad Caverns National Park in 
New Mexico, and Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado.
  For the past 10 years, Frank has served as superintendent of the 
Keweenaw National Historical Park in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, 
working to preserve and interpret the region's copper mining history. I 
offer this tribute to Frank because of my 10 years of personal 
experience working with Frank and witnessing his passion and enthusiasm 
for Keweenaw's rich mining history of immigration, labor, vibrant 
cultures, and changing technologies.
  Frank has been an extraordinary park superintendent at Keweenaw. 
Frank has successfully navigated the challenges of managing a park that 
owns less than 10 percent of the land within the park boundaries and 
requires partnering with a variety of public and private organizations. 
A significant milestone was reached with the completion of the park's 
General Management Plan, which Frank shepherded. Development of the 
plan was at times contentious and involved incorporating viewpoints 
from multiple stakeholders, including local citizens, businesses, 
landowners, entrepreneurs, corporations, educational institutions, 
foundations, and government agencies.
  Frank has been an enthusiastic advocate for the park, promoting the 
Keweenaw Peninsula's historic and cultural riches and envisioning the 
park's role in the future economic development of the region. Where 
some saw ruined, dilapidated buildings as eyesores, Frank saw them as 
opportunities. To preserve the historic landscape of copper country, 
Frank secured funding to make several significant property 
acquisitions, including the Quincy Mining Company's Pay Office; the 
Calumet and Hecla Mining Company General Office Building, which is now 
the Park Headquarters; the C&H Library, which now houses the park's 
extensive archival collections; C&H Warehouse No. 1, and the Union 
Building.
  A true preservationist, Frank successfully fought to stop the 
replacement of the city of Quincy's historic water tower, a vital part 
of the region's cultural landscape, with an underground storage tank. 
Frank personally researched and produced the original plans for the 
historic water tower, and now a replicated water tower stands proudly, 
providing water service to the area's residents and preserving a key 
feature of the Keweenaw landscape.
  In addition to preserving historic buildings, Frank also helped save 
a large collection of artifacts from the Calumet & Hecla Mining 
company, which is being cared for and catalogued by one of the Nation's 
finest professional staff of archivists, curators, and museum 
technicians. Since Frank's arrival, the park's museum collection has 
grown from nothing to over 300,000 historic items.
  As anyone who has had the opportunity to drive through the park with 
Frank knows, Frank truly is a visionary. One is quickly transported 
back in time to the 19th century, when the Keweenaw produced 85 percent 
of the Nation's copper. Frank makes the history of ``copper country'' 
come alive: the sounds of the immigrants arriving, the smells of 
pasties wafting from lunch pails descending into the deep mine shafts, 
the tremors from the strikes of 1913 caused by unfair labor conditions. 
His enthusiasm in relation to rehabilitating and interpreting the 
historic properties scattered across the park is contagious. Thanks to 
Frank, visitors to the Keweenaw can truly experience what it was like 
to be part of the mining community during the industrial revolution.
  Frank's dedication to preserving and interpreting the history of the 
Keweenaw, and his many years of public service is truly an example to 
others. His enthusiasm, vision, and proactive approach have given the 
people of Keweenaw, MI and our Nation a great gift.
  Thank you, Frank, for your service, and congratulations on your 
retirement.

                          ____________________