[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 60 (Thursday, May 5, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E817]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    A TRIBUTE TO LILLIAN JOST ON THE OCCASION OF HER 100TH BIRTHDAY

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                         HON. DANIEL E. LUNGREN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 5, 2011

  Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
recognize and honor my constituent, Lillian Mohr Jost, who will be 100 
years old on May 8th. She is a remarkable woman and a proud American 
who has lived through, and participated in, many of our nation's most 
important events over the last century. Ms. Jost grew up in New York 
City, where her father and grandfather built pipe organs, including the 
one for the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876. Thomas 
Edison recruited her uncle to refine the lead composition for his new 
invention, the phonograph. Ms. Jost remembers the glorious night in her 
childhood when electricity replaced the gas lamps on the streets of New 
York City.
  When she was nine, she walked her mother (who was blind) to the polls 
for the first time--women having just that year gained the right to 
vote. Three years later, visiting Washington, D.C., with her parents, 
she read a small sign in a shop window that said, ``The President has 
died of apoplexy.'' In the next few days, she witnessed the arrival at 
Union Station of the already-sworn-in President Calvin Coolidge and the 
solemn pomp of Warren Harding's presidential funeral.
  Ms. Jost graduated from Vassar College in 1932 and went on to 
Columbia University to become a librarian--this service would become 
her life's work. A passionate American, she took up flying lessons when 
World War II broke out, with the goal of joining the Women's Army Air 
Corp. Although the War, and the need for women pilots, ended before she 
achieved her desire, she was inducted into the Ninety Nines, that 
illustrious group of female pilots founded by Amelia Earhart.
  As a member of the Civil Air Patrol, Ms. Jost drove the Military 
Brass when they arrived in New York from the battle front to be 
debriefed. She met her beloved husband Elmer at a military ball of the 
Old Guard of the City of New York, where he, too, appeared in Civil Air 
Patrol uniform. Their love brought forth four daughters, 16 
grandchildren, 26 great grandchildren and a growing number of great-
great-grandchildren.
  As she turns 100, Ms. Jost remains devoted to her country, her 
church, to America's parks and wilderness, and to animal causes 
everywhere. She continues to be optimistic about the future, and is 
always vigilant for new things to learn and new adventures on which to 
embark. She recently took up the practice of yoga; she is an avid 
solver of crossword puzzles; and she keeps vigilant watch over the deer 
and other wildlife that frequent the yard of her Fair Oaks, California, 
home. She truly embodies the best of the American spirit. 
Congratulations, Lillian Jost!

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