[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 23 (Wednesday, February 11, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E195-E196]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            LIVES WELL-LIVED

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. RICHARD M. NOLAN

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 11, 2015

  Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize four people from the 
Cromwell/McGregor area of Minnesota who just celebrated turning 100-
years-old or more. In some parts of the country, this would be in 
passing--but for Cromwell (population 231) and McGregor (population 
376) it is big news that this many legacy members of their communities 
have reached this significant milestone. It must be our good Minnesota 
water.
   When you stop to think about it, to be born 100 years ago, there 
were no tractors to plow the fields and automobiles were just starting 
to be built. Before that, people walked to town or took a horse-and-
buggy. Most schoolrooms were in one-room buildings with an outhouse 
``out back.'' Radio communication was just beginning and television had 
not yet been invented. Penicillin had not been discovered. There were 
not vaccinations for polio or other deadly childhood diseases. The idea 
of an airplane was but a dream and the thought of man landing on the 
moon was unfathomable.

[[Page E196]]

How exciting it must have been for them witnessing that first countdown 
as John Glenn was the first American about to orbit the earth.
   These citizens lived through two World Wars, the Korean Conflict, 
Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
   They were just coming of age when the Depression hit this country 
and struggled like countless others to have part of the American dream.
   They persevered.
   Each of them--Mary Dahlberg, Hjalmer Hutar, Ailie Costello and Viola 
Johnson took different paths in their lives. I congratulate each of 
them for the contributions they brought to their families and 
communities. They have been lives well lived.

                          ____________________