[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 187 (Wednesday, November 15, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1572]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING THE DODGE FAMILY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELIOT L. ENGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 15, 2017

  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, this year the Riverdale Neighborhood House is 
celebrating its 145th Anniversary, and to mark the occasion they are 
honoring the family that started it all for them, the Dodges, at their 
annual anniversary gala.
  Few names are as synonymous with RNH and the Northwest Bronx as the 
Dodges. Their roots in the community run deep, starting in 1872 when 
Grace Hoadley Dodge founded the Riverdale Neighborhood House. Grace, at 
the age of 16, created a small library in one of the greenhouses on her 
family's property in Riverdale. The library became a hub for the 
workers in Riverdale and grew from there. In 1884, Grace helped 
Riverdale Neighborhood House acquire its own building, which provided 
community based services for the workers of Riverdale.
  In 1917, Grace's brother, Cleveland Hoadley Dodge, established the 
Cleveland H. Dodge Foundation. At the time, the Dodge family was 
profiting greatly off their copper mining business due to the Great 
War. Dodge was determined, as he wrote to his Presbyterian pastor, that 
``I will not burn my pockets by keeping a cent of the money coming to 
me from war profits.'' He set up the Foundation with the very general 
provisio that its income should be used ``for the betterment of 
mankind.'' Ever since its establishment, grants have been made by the 
Foundation to charitable and cultural institutions in New York City. In 
many cases, members of the family had helped to found them and 
subsequent generations have continued to support them.
  The combined good works of RNH and the Cleveland H. Dodge Foundation 
are too many to list. Through the years, many members of the Dodge 
family have shared their wealth, wisdom and support to the programs and 
services at RNH: Grace Parish Dodge, (Mrs. Cleveland H. Dodge) 
contributed to the Bayard Dodge Pool project in 1945; Mrs. Pauline M. 
Dodge, (Mrs. Cleveland E. Dodge) served on the RNH Board for many 
years, and Grace's grand nephew and grand nieces, Alfred H. Howell, 
Elizabeth Dodge R. Haxall, and Ruth Rea Howell, also served RNH during 
their lifetimes.
  The commitment the Dodge family has shown to RNH and our neighborhood 
is inspiring. They have done a wealth of good for my constituents and I 
want to thank them as they receive this great honor

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