[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 46 (Tuesday, March 17, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E683]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO BILL GHENT, INC.

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOHN SHIMKUS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 17, 2009

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a 
community institution in Harrisburg, Illinois, celebrating its 100th 
birthday.
  Bill Ghent, Inc. began business in 1909 as J.C. Robertson, and 
boasted as its slogan, ``Friends may sympathize, but we pay cash.'' 
Bill Ghent joined the business in the late 1930s, and in 1957, Bill 
Ghent, Inc. was established. In the early days, the only worries this 
small-town insurance agency was concerned with were fire and lightning. 
``Now, we've got all kinds of perils to deal with,'' Bill Ghent, II, 
told the local newspaper.
  These days, Bill Ghent, Inc, insures not just private citizens and 
their property, but also looks after the schools of the area. Insuring 
schools is something of a tradition for Bill Ghent, Inc. In Mr. Ghent's 
office, behind glass, is the 1909 to 1911 policy for the Bramlet School 
in Raleigh, Illinois. It insured the school building for $500 and the 
contents for $100.
  Bill Ghent, Inc. has served the residents of Harrisburg and 
southeastern Illinois from the days of horse and buggies to today's 
modern world. I want to congratulate Bill Ghent and all the employees 
of Bill Ghent, Inc. on one hundred years of service to the community, 
and to wish them one hundred more.

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