[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 192 (Thursday, December 17, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E3044]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                  RECOGNIZING WINIFRED ``WINN'' BUNDY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GABRIELLE GIFFORDS

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 16, 2009

  Ms. GIFFORDS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Winifred 
``Winn'' Bundy, who has been named a 2009 Arizona Culturekeeper for her 
commitment and dedication to upholding the traditions, rituals and 
culture of my State.
  For thirty-five years, Winn has operated the Singing Wind Bookshop 
near Benson, Arizona. Time magazine called Singing Wind ``one of the 
warmest bookshops on Earth'' and a national travel writer said it was 
``the most unique book-buying experience of my life.''
  Winn did not start out planning to run a book store. In 1956, she 
earned a degree in history and English from the University of Arizona. 
That year she and her husband bought the Singing Wind, a working cattle 
ranch.
  Winn's love of literature led her to start selling books from the 
living room of her ranch home. Winn soon developed a reputation for 
featuring a rich selection of regional authors and topics that draw 
readers from around the world. Since then, Winn's ranch house has 
become a must-visit destination for lovers of Southwestern literature 
who come from far and wide by car and tour bus. Winn now has 150,000 
titles in stock on everything from Indian rock art to ghost towns to 
the Jewish Western experience.
  Since 1974, Winn has helped hundreds of Southwestern writers get 
their start. She specializes in small press books that do not appear in 
big chain stores and connects authors with publishers to get their 
works in print.
  Winn also cultivates the love of literature and the humanities 
through the many community activities she sponsors. From its inception, 
Singing Wind has offered a bookmobile, school programs, book 
discussions, author readings and writers' festivals.
  Earlier this year, Winn received the Juliana Yoder Friend of the 
Humanities Award from the Arizona Humanities Council. On December 20, 
2009 she will be named an Arizona Culturekeeper, an award presented by 
the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa, in conjunction with the Sharlot Hall 
Museum, the Arizona Historical Society and Marshall Trimble, Arizona's 
official state historian.
  I am proud of the work that Winn has done to preserve Arizona's 
culture and to bring literature to a wide audience. She is truly a 
deserving recipient of the Culturekeeper Award and I join with the 
award committee in commending her for all that she has done for the 
people of Arizona and for readers across the country and around the 
world.

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