[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 138 (Tuesday, September 29, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2394]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING THE YALE WHIFFENPOOFS OF YALE UNIVERSITY ON THEIR CENTENNIAL 
                              ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 29, 2009

  Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise today 
to extend my sincere congratulations to the Yale Whiffenpoofs--the 
oldest continuous collegiate a cappella singing group in America--as 
they celebrate their centennial anniversary.
  The Whiffenpoofs of Yale University were first formed at the old 
Mory's Bar on Temple Street in New Haven, Connecticut one hundred years 
ago by 5 men, Denton Fowler, James Merriam Howard, Carl Lohmann, Meade 
Minnigerode, and George Pomeroy, where they performed weekly concerts. 
Thus began one of Yale University's most celebrated and hallowed 
traditions.
  Each year, fourteen men are selected to participate in this time 
honored institution and are asked to make an international tour to U.S. 
Embassies, foreign capitals, palaces, churches, and the smallest of 
villages on every continent. These outstanding songsters serve as 
ambassadors of song and goodwill on behalf of Yale University, college 
students, and the United States. The Whiffenpoofs also stand as a model 
for a cappella singing groups formed at colleges and universities 
across America.
  The Whiffenpoofs are perhaps best know for the ``Whiffenpoof Song''--
an unpublished setting of Rudyard Kipling's ``Gentlemen-Rankers.'' The 
``Whiffenpoof Song'' was the adopted theme song of the brave men of the 
Black Sheep Squadron of the U.S. Army Air Force in World War II and, 
over the years, has been recorded by some of America's greatest artists 
including Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, and Elvis 
Presley. We could not be more proud of all that this wonderful singing 
group has accomplished over its 100-year history.
  For their many contributions to our community and for all the joy 
they have brought to audiences around the world, I am very proud to 
stand today to extend my heartfelt congratulations to the Yale 
Whiffenpoofs as they celebrate their 100th Anniversary. I wish them all 
the best for another century of song, tradition, fellowship, and 
friendship.

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