[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 111 (Tuesday, July 27, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1435]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        RECOGNIZING THE BICENTENNIAL OF THE CITY OF McMINNVILLE

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                           HON. LINCOLN DAVIS

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 27, 2010

  Mr. DAVIS of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 
City of McMinnville, which next week will celebrate its bicentennial.
  Named after Governor Joseph McMinn, who helped write the Tennessee 
state constitution in 1796, McMinnville has been the center of economic 
activity for Warren County for the last two hundred years. Agriculture 
and horticulture have long been staples of the people who live in 
middle Tennessee, and McMinnville is no exception. McMinnville's 
position on the Cumberland Plateau makes it uniquely suited to growing 
a wide variety of crops and plants. Home to about 650 nurseries 
specializing in everything from evergreen trees to flowering shrubs, 
it's no wonder that McMinnville is known as the ``Nursery Capital of 
the World.''
  For a rural Tennessee community, McMinnville has given our country 
its fair share of notable statesmen and entertainers. Carl Thomas Rowan 
grew up in McMinnville before attending Tennessee State and Washburn 
Universities. He was later appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of 
State by President John F. Kennedy, served at the U.S. Ambassador to 
Finland, and became the first African American to hold a seat on the 
National Security Council.
  In keeping with Tennessee's musical tradition, several McMinnville 
residents have become well known musicians in Nashville and throughout 
the United States. McMinnville native Uncle Dave Macon, also known as 
``the Dixie Dewdrop,'' became one of the first stars of the Grand Ole 
Opry. Dinah Shore moved to McMinnville with her family in 1924 and went 
on to become a television star and singer, performing alongside stars 
like Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. Born and raised in McMinnville, 
Dottie West was made famous with her role as ``Miss Country Sunshine'' 
in a Coca-Cola commercial and her performances at the Grand Ole Opry.
  As residents in McMinnville and across Warren County prepare to mark 
the city's 200th anniversary, I encourage them to take a moment and 
reflect on the history and heritage of their community so that it may 
be preserved as the city begins its third century.

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