[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 171 (Monday, December 31, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2020]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           IN TRIBUTE TO PUSHMATAHA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

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                          HON. ELTON GALLEGLY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, December 31, 2012

  Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in tribute to the Pushmataha County 
Historical Society in Antlers, Oklahoma, and in particular Myrtle 
Edmond and Madge Jentry.
  As historical societies go, the Pushmataha County Historical Society 
is relatively new, having been founded in 1984. But the Society's staff 
and volunteers know their town, its history, its people, and their 
place firmly rooted in the heart of America.
  My family hails from the Antlers, Oklahoma, area. When I was a young 
boy, I would travel by train, arriving and departing from the Frisco 
Depot, which now houses the Pushmataha County Historical Society. 
Myrtle Edmond and Madge Jentry were at the Society headquarters when my 
wife, Janice, and I stopped by on a recent trip and asked a few 
questions about my ancestors. Myrtle and Madge responded by 
enthusiastically researching everything they could find on the Gallegly 
and Williams family branches. Myrtle even wrote down, by hand, all 
their research in great detail and gave it to me.
  In addition, Myrtle had previously served on the society's cemetery 
identification project and helped identify and inventory almost 12,000 
burials and grave sites at approximately 119 locations. With that 
information, she was able to locate the gravesites of my grandparents 
and many other relatives.
  The wealth of information Myrtle and Madge were able to provide on my 
family is even more impressive when one considers that the county 
courthouse burned during the Great Depression. Society volunteers have 
painstakingly rebuilt ancestral records from U.S. Census, newspapers, 
and other items in the historical record.
  Mr. Speaker, Antlers, Oklahoma, is America. It has seen its share of 
hardship yet continues to bounce back. One of the most devastating 
tornadoes in the history of the state struck Antlers on April 12, 1945. 
Out of a population of 3,000, 55 were killed, including my uncle, 
Dennis Dixon Gallegly. One third of the city was demolished. The city 
has suffered devastating fires. Floods have washed away homes, but they 
can't wash away Antlers, or the spirit of its people.
  Mr. Speaker, the pride Myrtle Edmond and Madge Jentry have in their 
community and in America was evidenced in their enthusiastic research 
of my family's roots. I know my colleagues join Janice and me in 
thanking them and all the Pushmataha County Historical Society 
volunteers for preserving and celebrating their part of our nation's 
history through dedication, passion, and professionalism. They are 
preserving the heart of America.

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