[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 31 (Friday, February 26, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E231]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            IN HONOR OF THE FILIPINO WOMEN'S CLUB OF SALINAS

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 26, 2016

  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Filipino Women's 
Club of Salinas (FWCS) on the occasion of its 86th Anniversary. The 
FWCS has been a pillar of Central Coast community service through most 
of the 20th Century, and exemplifies its motto of faith, worth, 
courage, and service. I am confident that the leadership and members of 
the FWCS have the vision, skill, and motivation to carry the 
organization forward into the 21st Century.
  The FWCS grew out of the struggles of Filipino farm workers for 
recognition and fair treatment in the early 20th Century. Many of the 
Filipino immigrants who came to California in the years around WWI 
gravitated to farm work in the Salinas and Central Valleys. In the 
Salinas Valley, some of the more enterprising fieldworkers had 
developed their own abilities to manage teams of workers and the 
regions' growers began to work with them as labor contractors. Most of 
these successful contractors were married--a rarity in that time given 
the laws that limited the immigration of Filipino women and interracial 
marriage. These wives cared for and counseled many Filipino field 
workers, most of whom had no family in the United States. Thus many 
Pinoy workers enjoyed the support of a surrogate mother or big sister.
  This economic success led many Filipinos to become active in the 
civic life of the Salinas Valley. Filipinos started businesses, founded 
churches, and even published a Filipino community newspaper, the 
Philippines Mail. The leaders of this civic activism founded the FWCS 
as an extension of this passion for community service. One of the early 
FWCS presidents, Paulina Morales, was emblematic of that spirit. She 
organized a Filipino youth marching band, promoted Filipino folk music 
performances, and generally brought Filipino culture to the general 
public.
  As the decades passed, the FWCS build on this foundation to become an 
integral part of the Salinas Valley's community fabric. In the wake of 
WWII, the FWCS helped to support U.S. and Filipino veterans. It 
established a scholarship fund for local youth. Following the eruption 
of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines, the FWCS raised funds to help the 
disaster's victims. And in just the last decade, the FWCS has joined in 
a civil society effort to support nation building in the Philippines.
  Mr. Speaker, I am deeply honored to represent this remarkable 
community of leaders. I know I speak for the whole House in recognizing 
the accomplishments and long tradition of service exemplified by the 
FWCS. I am confident that this tradition will carry on for many years 
to come. Mabuhay!

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