[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 56 (Monday, April 7, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E537]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            CELEBRATING THE 100TH BIRTHDAY OF THELDA DOBBINS

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                        HON. MICHAEL H. MICHAUD

                                of maine

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 7, 2014

  Mr. MICHAUD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 100th 
birthday of Mrs. Thelda Dobbins.
  Thelda Kirschner Dobbins was born on April 26, 1914 in Lisbon Falls, 
Maine. She graduated from Lisbon Falls High School in 1930 at the age 
of 16 and went on to receive a teaching degree from Farmington State 
Normal School, now known as the University of Maine at Farmington, as a 
member of the Class of 1932. Thelda went on to teach grade school in 
Durham, Maine for three years, making $12 a week during the Great 
Depression.
  Thelda continued to teach until she married Lester Dobbins in 1938, 
and the couple gave birth to their only child, Herb, in 1941. After the 
onset of World War II, Thelda returned to teaching in Sabattus and then 
at Pettingill School in Lewiston until her retirement in 1971.
  Thelda and Lester enjoyed over 60 years of marriage until Lester 
passed away in 2000. Thelda continues to be an active member of the 
Auburn community as a resident of The Chapman House.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me again in celebrating the 100th birthday 
of Mrs. Thelda Dobbins, who has led an extraordinary life dedicated to 
her family and the education of Maine's children.

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