[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 48 (Thursday, March 25, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E500]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             GEORGE GREEOTT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 25, 2010

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate 
the life of George Greeott, who in his 100th year in Sonoma County, 
California, has made innumerable contributions to his community and has 
unquestionably left his mark on the history of this part of my 
district.
  He has earned many titles, Sonoma County's Renaissance Man--farmer, 
inventor, artist, blacksmith, school board member, collector of Native 
American artifacts, horseshoe champion, loving husband and devoted 
father--and the Duke of (the Town of) Windsor in 2007 among them.
  Mr. Greeott was born in Santa Rosa, the county seat of Sonoma County, 
on April 30, 1910, the son of Italian immigrants. He began ranching 
with his father in the Chalk Hill Valley in 1928 and raised prunes, 
apples and grapes, as well as sheep and horses over the following 70 
years. He met and married his wife Isabel Sicco, the daughter of a 
local chicken farmer, in the 1930s and together they had four children.
  Mr. Greeott owned several patents that made ranching life easier for 
his family and his neighbors. His ``Fence-Tight'' helped crimp and 
tighten wire fencing and was a big seller in the Thorson Tool Company 
catalogue. One of his non-farming inventions, the ``Greeott Grabber,'' 
helped him win numerous horseshoe tournaments before he retired from 
competition at the age of 93, while he was still on top.
  His unique metal sculptures and woodcarvings are permanently housed 
in the Windsor Museum, for which he established the Windsor Historical 
Society Endowment Fund. His collections of Pomo Indian artifacts and 
vintage tools and bottles used in the early days of the wine industry 
have been donated to other museums throughout Sonoma County.
  Madam Speaker, George Greeott is loved and respected by his 
community, who will help him celebrate his 100th birthday. It is 
appropriate that we send our best wishes to this truly remarkable man.

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