[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 45 (Thursday, March 31, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E581]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING THE MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LYNN C. WOOLSEY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 31, 2011

  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the sesquicentennial 
of the newspaper now known as the Marin Independent Journal. The 
publication's predecessor was first published on March 23, 1861, as a 
weekly chronicle of life in our unique corner of California. Marin 
County has changed a great deal in the 150 years since, but the 
enterprising and independent spirit of our people remains, and we are 
privileged that the IJ has been with us to capture it.
  The IJ traces its roots back to our first local newspaper, the Marin 
County Journal, which in 1861 served a population of only a few 
thousand residents. It was a time when bears and mountain lions were 
still hunted in Marin hills, when the recipients of Mexican land grants 
still ran their own properties, and when the United States was just 
beginning its Civil War. The local paper covered it all with a 
particular taste for local news, culture, and opinion. In our sparse 
and isolated county, the newspaper was the voice for a community. In 
1948, the Marin County Journal merged with the San Rafael Independent 
to form the Marin County Independent Journal, the county's premier 
daily ever since.
  The story of the IJ is in many ways the story of Marin itself. The 
newspaper was there to report on Marin's iconic landmarks as they were 
first being built, from the celebrated Point Reyes and Point Bonita 
Lighthouses in the 1870s to Sausalito's Casa Madrona in the 1880s, the 
Golden Gate Bridge in the 1930s, and Frank Lloyd Wright's Civic Center 
building in the 1960s. The newspaper was there to capture local 
reactions to the crises our county has weathered, from the great 
earthquake of 1906 to the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989, from the Mt. 
Tamalpais fires of 1913 and 1929 to the New Year's floods of 2005.
  The IJ also reminds us of how little has changed over the decades. A 
community defined by its independent farmers and ranchers in the 19th 
century has been largely urbanized, but its soul still resides in the 
small-scale, environmentally conscious family farming that Marin County 
champions today. A community that was once literally cut off from the 
rest of the world has become one that is now passionately engaged, but 
with a perspective that remains fiercely independent.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you to join me in celebrating the 150th 
anniversary of the Marin Independent Journal. It is an advocate for our 
county, a forum for our people, and a reflection of everything that has 
made Marin the place we treasure.

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