[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 185 (Monday, December 5, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2180-E2181]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         IN RECOGNITION OF THE 100TH BIRTHDAY OF ELEANOR NORRIS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WILLIAM R. KEATING

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, December 5, 2011

  Mr. KEATING. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Mrs. Eleanor 
Norris, a resident of my district in Norwell, Massachusetts, who today 
celebrates her 100th birthday.
  Eleanor was born on December 5, 1911, in Chicago with her family 
later moving to Boston. A product of dedicated homeschooling, she went 
on to attend Vassar College and became a first-grade teacher, working 
in Hanson, among other towns. Shortly after that she met, Albert 
Norris, a World War II naval aviator, with whom she had a 17-year 
courtship before they married.
  Starting in the 1920s, Albert and Eleanor began purchasing land along 
the North River, a National Natural Landmark and a Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts Scenic River. They eventually built a cottage, cut a 
trail system, opened up the shady forest to attract wildflowers and 
ferns, and created a haven for woodland and riverside wildlife. Sadly, 
in 1962, six years after they married, Albert passed away.
  Upon his death, she inherited 100 acres along the North River. Many 
people would have caved to the numerous developers who made her offers, 
but not Eleanor. She decided, rather, that the land should not be sold 
but left to the public to enjoy forever. So starting in 1970, she 
donated those 100 acres to The Trustees of Reservations, a non-profit 
land management organization. The plot was named the Norris 
Reservation. This was an extraordinary gift to all of us from a woman 
who to this day lives very simply next door to the land she donated.
  In addition to this timeless gift, Eleanor helped launch the South 
Shore Natural Science Center in 1962 and was named Norwell Citizen of 
the Year for 1994. Adding to her numerous achievements, she became an 
accomplished ballroom dancer in her 60s.
  Eleanor's greatest pleasure in life now comes from ``seeing people 
enjoying themselves with the right thing,'' such as nature and music. 
And on occasion, she still gets out into the woods of the reservation.
  Her legacy of service and commitment to our community will live 
forever in the Norris Reservation. It seems to me that there is no more 
fitting a memorial for a woman who contributed so much to Norwell than 
a living, breathing, growing part of the town she and her husband 
loved. The Norris Reservation, like the people it is named for, has 
made its mark on the lives of countless members of our community and 
will continue to for generations to come.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to honor Eleanor Norris on this joyous 
occasion. I ask that my colleagues join me in wishing her many more 
years of health and happiness.

[[Page E2181]]



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