[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 73 (Monday, May 5, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E815]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      IN HONOR OF ELEANOR GELFAND

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 5, 2008

  Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of Eleanor Gelfand 
as she and her family celebrate her 90th birthday.
  Eleanor Gelfand, the daughter of immigrants from Hungary, was born in 
Cleveland, Ohio, on May 2, 1918. She grew up along with her two 
siblings in the Glenville neighborhood of Cleveland during the great 
depression. Her parents, Zigmund and Mary Adler, worked as a union 
baker and a homemaker and were active in the Glenville community. Their 
activism and ability to work with fellow community members on social 
issues during a time of economic strife instilled a strong sense of 
social consciousness in their young children.
  Mrs. Gelfand attended Glenville High School and later went on to earn 
her degree in cosmetology, becoming a licensed beautician. She 
continued to work in local salons until World War II. Shortly after the 
attack on Pearl Harbor, she married Ernest Gelfand who was drafted into 
the Navy after U.S. involvement in the war. Mrs. Gelfand left her 
career as a beautician and began working at the Fisher Body plant in 
Cleveland making airplanes for the war. Shortly after her husband 
returned from serving his country in the war, they started a family and 
she stayed home to raise their 3 children. In 1969, she returned to her 
first career in cosmetology, where she would continue to work until her 
retirement in 1980. She and her husband were active together in the 
Jewish War Veterans Post 44. She continues to work closely with them by 
raising money to help other veterans in the community. Just as her 
parents instilled strong values of social activism in her, she too 
continues to serve as an example to her 3 children, 6 grandchildren and 
8 great-grandchildren.
  Madam Speaker and colleagues, please join me in honor of Eleanor 
Gelfand as she celebrates her 90th birthday party. May her story and 
continued activism in the Greater Cleveland community serve as an 
example for all of us to follow.

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