[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 152 (Tuesday, October 9, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2085]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      IN HONOR OF MELVIN BELL LANE

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 9, 2007

  Mr. FARR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of a 
remarkable citizen, Mr. Melvin Bell Lane, who passed away in July at 
the age of 85. Mel and his brother Bill helped define Western living 
with their publications ``Sunset'' magazine and Sunset books. Mel was 
also well known as a philanthropist and was one of California's most 
prominent conservation leaders.
  Mel Lane was born in Iowa, where his father sold advertising for 
``Better Homes and Gardens'' magazine. When Mel was 6 years old, his 
family moved to California, where his father bought the 30-year-old 
``Sunset'' magazine. It was then the on-board tourist magazine for the 
Southern Pacific Railroad's Sunset Limited.
  During World War II, Mel and Bill both served in the Navy. After the 
war, the brothers went to work for the magazine, eventually becoming 
co-owners. Under their direction, ``Sunset'' magazine and its books on 
food, gardening, travel, and do-it-yourself became standards of the 
industry. It was said that ``Sunset's Western Garden Book'' was the 
most revered of its many publications, with well-thumbed copies found 
in nearly every nursery in the State.
  In 1965, California Governor Pat Brown appointed Mel to be the first 
chairman of the newly created San Francisco Bay Conservation and 
Development Commission. This agency was successful in stopping 
developers from filling in the bay and paving over the wetlands. Later, 
Governor Ronald Reagan named him to be the first chairman of the 
California Coastal Commission, and Governor Jerry Brown re-appointed 
him. His attitude was that a healthy environment was crucial to a 
healthy economy. ``As soon as business tightens up, not only do we drop 
environmental controls but as a shot to the economy we drill for more 
oil and cut down trees,'' he said. ``These are a rip-off of the 
environment that can't be done indefinitely, so it's poor business.''
  When Ronald Reagan was elected President, he asked Mel to come to 
Washington to direct the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, but Mel 
was not one who enjoyed being in the public eye, and he declined. Mel 
also co-founded the Peninsula Open Space Trust, preserving nearly 
60,000 acres to expand State and local parks.
  Mel graduated from Stanford University in 1944, and as a trustee from 
1981 to 1991, he was a strong supporter of the humanities and creative 
writing, and of course for environmental research and teaching. 
Following the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989, he worked to restore the 
damage that had been done to the campus, especially to the Memorial 
Church.
  He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Joan Fletcher Lane; daughters 
Whitney Miller and Julie Lane Gay; his brother, L.W. ``Bill'' Lane; and 
four grandchildren.
  Madam Speaker, I had the great pleasure of knowing Melvin Lane when 
he and my father worked together on the California Coastal Commission. 
He was a smart businessman, a dedicated environmentalist, well known 
yet humble; a man who always said ``Make my speech shorter.'' He had 
that unique ability to inspire confidence and loyalty from people with 
opposite points of view. He will be sorely missed.

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