[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 100 (Wednesday, June 30, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1257]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           ON THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BELEN HARVEY HOUSE

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                          HON. MARTIN HEINRICH

                             of new mexico

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 30, 2010

  Mr. HEINRICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a notable 
constituent of New Mexico's First Congressional District, Ms. Maurine 
McMillan, who is the director of the Harvey House Museum in Belen, New 
Mexico.
  The Harvey House Museum was founded in 1910 and served as an 
important gathering space for scores of railroad patrons during the 
first half of the 20th century. During that time, the Santa Fe line and 
its accompanying railroad industry defined development in central New 
Mexico but offered little in the way of comfort to travelers.
  Fred Harvey's company brought elegant restaurants, hotel services and 
amenities to the traveling public throughout the Southwest and 
established a reputation for cleanliness and friendliness. At its peak, 
Mr. Harvey's company operated 84 unique Harvey Houses and was the first 
``chain'' business in the world, with an average of one house every 100 
miles of the Santa Fe rail line, from Kansas to California.
  Many of those Harvey Houses have since been abandoned, demolished or 
converted to office or storage space for the railroad, but the Harvey 
House Museum in Belen has been preserved. It is now listed on the 
National Register and visitors are able to tour its many exhibits. Many 
community events are also held at the Harvey House Museum, earning the 
building high regard as a true ``place of the heart'' in New Mexico.
  I am proud to honor Ms. Maurine McMillan of New Mexico's First 
Congressional District for her continued leadership in preserving the 
rich value of the Harvey House Museum of Belen to New Mexicans, on its 
100th anniversary, this month of June, 2010.

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