[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 204 (Thursday, December 14, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1710]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING THE 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SALVATION ARMY OF ROCK ISLAND 
                            COUNTY, ILLINOIS

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                           HON. CHERI BUSTOS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 14, 2017

  Mrs. BUSTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Salvation 
Army on its 125th anniversary in Rock Island County, Illinois.
  The Salvation Army opened in Moline in 1892, 27 years after it was 
founded in London. The Moline Salvation Army was started after 
immigrants from Europe and Sweden came to the area in the 1890s in 
order to find work at John Deere. After arriving in the region, a group 
of Swedish men wrote back to their home country to ask that officers be 
sent to start a church. The Salvation Army's first services were held 
in a rented space above a saloon in the Browning Block Building on the 
southwest corner of 15th Street and 5th Avenue in Moline in 1892. A 
Rock Island Salvation Army opened just one year later. In 1993, the two 
merged to become the Moline Salvation Army, which has been in its 
current location since 2000.
  The Salvation Army has given women the same leadership opportunities 
as men. Women serve as pastors, Bible teachers and social service 
workers; they also lead ministries and carry the same rank as male 
counterparts.
  The Salvation Army's original mission has evolved over the years. It 
was first founded with the basic social services principles of taking 
care of the physical and emotional needs of the hungry and homeless, 
but has grown to take on disaster relief services, child care centers, 
summer camps, holiday assistance, services for the aging, veterans 
programs, shelters for women and children, family and career 
counseling, vocational training, correctional services, and substance 
abuse rehabilitation.
  Mr. Speaker, I again want to congratulate The Salvation Army on its 
125th anniversary in Rock Island County and wish it another successful 
125 years.

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