[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 128 (Tuesday, September 8, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1213-E1214]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     RECOGNIZING THE TOWN OF KOUTS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. PETER J. VISCLOSKY

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 8, 2015

  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, it is with profound admiration that I 
recognize the town of Kouts, Indiana, as it marks its 150th 
anniversary. In celebration of this special occasion, festivities were 
held in Kouts on August 22, 2015, which included a parade and 
commemoration ceremony coinciding with the town's annual Porkfest and 
the historic Aukiki Festival.
   An idyllic sanctuary for rural life, Kouts has become the thriving 
community it is today due to one noble trait: perseverance. In 1865, 
when surveyors of the nearby Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Saint Louis 
railroad sought lodging, they were denied at the first home they

[[Page E1214]]

came to and wandered onward to be accepted with hospitality at the 
second, where the Kouts family lived. Henceforth, the family name was 
given to the area as it expanded from the Kouts train station and was 
built into a prospering community by the surveyors. The village applied 
for incorporation three times, failing twice before Kouts' patience was 
rewarded in 1921, the same year electricity spread to the area.
   Kouts has always been a town of industry, not in the sense of 
material production, but in the sense that the people of Kouts have 
always toiled with conviction and tenacity to create the lives they 
envision for themselves and to lift up their community as a civil 
microcosm worthy of respect.
   It is a testament to the quality of the people of Kouts and their 
interest in supporting each member of the community that Blake Benson, 
an eighth grader at Kouts Middle School, has assumed the role of 
President of the town's Sesquicentennial Committee, performing the 
duties of his office with pride. In collaboration with his Committee, 
Blake has organized the joyous commemoration of this special day in 
Kouts history. For their devotion to their town's history and 
prosperity, I would like to acknowledge Mr. Benson, the Kouts 
Sesquicentennial Committee, and Kouts Clerk-Treasurer Laurie Tribble.
   Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and my distinguished colleagues join me 
in honoring the 150th anniversary of the town of Kouts. The town's long 
history of harmonious cohabitations is inspiring and is worthy of our 
admiration.

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