[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 168 (Friday, November 4, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2020]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HAPPY 150TH BIRTHDAY TO WELD COUNTY, COLORADO

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JARED POLIS

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, November 4, 2011

  Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I am honored today to recognize the 150th 
birthday of Weld County, Colorado. Weld is the sunny, rolling home to 
31 towns filled with Coloradans of all backgrounds and aspirations. In 
1821, Major Stephen H. Long made an expedition to the area now known as 
Weld County and declared the land was not fit for human prosperity. 
Almost two centuries later it is without question that Major Long did 
not have the vision or the admiration for this great place as those of 
Weld County have today.
  Located in the north central part of Colorado, Weld County provides 
an impressive supply of opportunity and industrial support being the 
State's leader in production of cattle, grain, and sugar beets and the 
second leader in production of oil and gas. It is ranked as the third 
leading agricultural area in the United States.
  But it is not the natural resources or the environmental make up of 
Weld County that make it what it is today, on its 150th birthday. It is 
the people of this county that have taken it from a prairie region 
first settled by railroad workers, to a vibrant and growing home to 
thousands of Colorado families. Beyond its industrial value, one of the 
State's strongest public universities, the University of Northern 
Colorado in Greeley, is located within Weld County and provides 
thousands of students the opportunity for higher education and a more 
fertile future every year.
  I congratulate the people of Weld County on 150 years of progress and 
prosperity and eagerly anticipate what the future holds for this 
forward-looking Colorado County.

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