[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 39 (Friday, March 9, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E360-E361]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     RECOGNIZING THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF PRINCE WILLIAM FOREST PARK

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GERALD E. CONNOLLY

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 9, 2012

  Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I join with my colleague, 
Congressman Robert Wittman, to recognize the 75th anniversary of Prince 
William Forest Park.
  In 1936, the National Park Service opened the gates to Prince William 
Forest Park, then known as Chopawamsic Recreational Demonstration Area. 
Chopawamsic was the model for a new National Park Service program that 
provided low-income families with easy access to the outdoors during 
the Great Depression. Chopawamsic represented the ideal that all 
Americans should have access to the fresh air and serenity found in our 
nation's parks.
  At Chopawamsic, the National Park Service focused particularly on 
providing the overnight, outdoor recreation opportunities for 
impoverished urban children. As often happens, the youth of our nation 
bore the brunt of our national suffering during hard times of the Great 
Depression. In segregated camps, the children of the Great Depression 
found health care in their camp's infirmary, nutritional food in their 
camp's mess hall, and a peaceful night's sleep beneath the stars in 
sleeping cabins.
  These cabin camps were built through the sweat and labor of Civilian 
Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration workers. For 8 
years, more than 2,000 relief workers constructed summer camp 
``havens'' for kids while earning sustenance for their families. That 
these cabins continue to welcome Americans today, 75 years later, is a 
testament to the superior construction and hard work of those public 
works programs.
  As our nation left behind its fight against the Great Depression, it 
joined the new national fight--World War II. Chopawamsic joined the war 
effort by becoming the Advanced Special Operations and Communications 
training schools for the fledgling Office of Strategic

[[Page E361]]

Services, OSS. The OSS was America's first centralized intelligence 
agency and the foundation of our nation's Special Forces units. In the 
cabins, the laughter of children was replaced by the booms of 
demolition ranges and the tapping of Morse Code. At Chopawamsic, the 
art of spying and enemy infiltration was honed by a new agency that 
helped America succeed in World War II.
  In 1948, Chopawamsic was renamed Prince William Forest Park. Since 
its inception the park has been a magnet for outdoor recreation for 
young people and adults alike and a true asset to our community and 
nation. The park's 375,000 annual visitors enjoy 37 miles of hiking 
trails, 21 miles of bicycle accessible roads and trails, 4 campgrounds, 
5 historic cabin camps, and 15,000 acres of pristine Piedmont Forest.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in commemorating the 
75th anniversary of Prince William Forest Park, and I urge all 
residents of Northern Virginia to explore this gem of the Park Service 
in our own backyard.

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