[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 56 (Thursday, April 2, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H4487-H4488]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING ROBERT FAY ROCKWELL, JR.

  (Mr. MASSA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MASSA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Robert 
Fay Rockwell, Jr., a close friend of myself and of our community in New 
York.
  Bob Rockwell was born on November 8 of 1911 in Bradford, 
Pennsylvania. He attended Whittier College in a far-off land in 
California where he became friends with a fellow student, Richard 
Nixon. He moved to Corning, New York, in 1933, to run the local 
department store, the Rockwell Company, owned by his grandfather.
  Soon after, he, like so many of the Greatest Generation, departed to 
serve overseas in World War II and joined the 70th Construction 
Battalion of the great Seabees in World War II. He was stationed in 
North Africa and later in California.
  Upon his return to Corning, he became close friends with Frederick 
Carder, founder of the world famous Steuben Glass Works. He amassed the 
world's largest collection of Frederick Carder's Steuben glass, 
priceless in its volume.
  His liking of aesthetics in art was not limited to only glass. Bob 
became the largest collector of Western art, including Remingtons and 
Russells, and in the early 1960s, opened a display of

[[Page H4488]]

that collection in his department store. He later donated most of these 
collections to what was then called--and now is world famous--the 
Rockwell Museum. This museum got its first home in 1976 in an old hotel 
in downtown Corning.
  During that time, he became president of both Corning Chamber of 
Commerce and Corning Rotary Club and forever left his mark on both 
organizations. In 1983, the Rockwell Museum of Western Art opened in 
Corning's refurbished old City Hall building. It's become a popular 
local and national icon.
  The multimillion dollar value of Bob's donated art and glass is a 
testament to his generosity, but is only one of such testaments. His 
legacy is further enhanced by his compassion and help to his fellow 
man.
  And let me close by saying, from the heart to Bob and to his family 
and from all of us in Corning, New York, and in western New York State, 
Bob, we are always in your debt for your tremendous contributions to 
our community.

                          ____________________