[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 17, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E344]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      RECOGNIZING KENSINGTON VIDEO

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. SUSAN A. DAVIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 17, 2015

  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, on February 28, 2015, a San 
Diego institution closed its doors. After more than 30 years in 
business the curtain came down on Kensington Video.
  Kensington Video premiered in 1984 with Winnie and Rich Hanford and 
their children, Guy and Pam, rolling out the red carpet for its 
customers.
  Since then, their video library has grown to an astounding 70,000 
titles--perhaps one of the largest in the country.
  Among the stacks of VHS, Beta, and DVDs, you could find not only the 
latest blockbusters but also that rare, special-interest film or 
foreign-language movie.
  Amazingly, they never computerized. They just knew where every film 
title was, like seasoned shopkeepers familiar with their stock.
  If the movie you wanted was not in their library, they would track it 
down for you.
  It was that commitment to film and their customers that had people 
coming from miles away to Kensington Video.
  Like a classic black and white movie, Kensington Video had the feel 
of a classic American small business. Customers came for the people 
behind the counter as much as they came for the films on the shelf.
  They came to rent a movie and also get the latest news and gossip of 
what was happening in the neighborhood.
  I was a proud member of Kensington Video and just as proud of my low 
membership number--74.
  In 1948, mystery writer Raymond Chandler, who was also a Hollywood 
screenwriter, wrote: ``Not only is the motion picture an art, but it is 
the one entirely new art that has been evolved on this planet for 
hundreds of years.''
  Kensington Video was the curator of that art for San Diego.
  I hope the House of Representatives will join me in recognizing and 
thanking Kensington Video for years of service to the neighborhood of 
Kensington and city of San Diego.

                          ____________________