[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 60 (Wednesday, April 16, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E627]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HONORING MOTHER LUCY SLADE LEE ON HER 106TH BIRTHDAY

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                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS-

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 16, 2008

  Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Mother Lucy 
Slade Lee, who celebrated her 106th birthday with family and friends 
last Saturday at New Gethsemane Baptist Church in Crown Heights where 
she has been an usher for many years.
  Mother Lee, whose official birthday was on April 9, was born in 1902 
in New Bern, North Carolina, to the late Elijah and Mahalia Slade, and 
is succeeded by generations of Slade children. She continued to work 
well into what many consider retirement age, as an usher and a 
caretaker to the elderly.
  Mother Lee and her family moved into a home on Fleet Street in 
Brooklyn in 1922, and recalls fondly a time in Brooklyn when there was 
no electric lighting in home or on the streets; when subway fare was a 
mere nickel and the Daily News 2 cents; when New York City streets were 
lined with stables where horses were kept; and when you used your 
windowsill as a refrigerator. Although these times were not easy, 
Mother Lee's faith inspired her to devote much of her time to New 
Gethsemane Baptist Church, where she began serving as an usher in 1966.
  For inspiration on how to become better people, we must look to those 
amongst us who have mastered life's difficult challenges. With Mother 
Lee's longevity, she has established herself as an outstanding role 
model for the rest of us.

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