[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 165 (Thursday, November 5, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1606]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CELEBRATING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE COLLINSVILLE MEMORIAL PUBLIC 
                                LIBRARY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOHN SHIMKUS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, November 5, 2015

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the 
Collinsville Memorial Public Library on their 100th anniversary of 
service to our community.
   On October 15th, 1915, Mrs. John Bruso, the president of the 
Collinsville Study Club, now the Women's Club, tasked Mrs. Charles 
Holding, Mrs. Charles Listeman, and Mrs. AC Powel with establishing a 
Library for the city of Collinsville. Less than a year later, the 
library opened on the second floor of city hall. One hundred and 
twenty-one volumes were donated for public use.
   Since opening, the library has seen many moves and structural 
modifications, as well as the addition of the Collinsville Historical 
Museum. I am proud to say the library also serves as a memorial. On 
November 30th, 1938, a tablet was dedicated to fifteen Americans who 
heroically gave their lives in World War I, and exactly ten years later 
another tablet was dedicated to fifty soldiers who defended our freedom 
in World War II.
   I am proud of the history the Collinsville Memorial Public Library 
has in our community, and I'm excited to see what it will bring to our 
future generations.

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