[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 11 (Thursday, January 18, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H547-H548]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HONORING THE LIFE OF NORTH STATE ICON MORISS TAYLOR

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2017, the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa) is 
recognized for 5 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for 
yielding me some of his time. I appreciate it.
  Mr. Speaker, tonight it is with great sadness that I rise to pay 
tribute to a man who passed recently in the north State, an icon. 
Moriss Taylor passed last week at the age of 93. He was a cowboy singer 
and a local legend.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, I know House rules require that you wear a jacket 
and wear a tie and it is not allowed to wear hats on the floor, so I 
respect that, but I will do what I can, in the spirit of Moriss Taylor, 
to wear the type of clothing typically you would see on his show with 
this Western shirt. Of course, his were much fancier than this one I am 
wearing here tonight in what I think is known in Nashville as the nudie 
jacket style, where it is very, very well decorated with rhinestones 
and shiny objects like that.
  And so you see the gentleman right here. I mean, how can you not like 
that and feel at home with someone like that?
  Moriss was born in Miami, Oklahoma in 1925, and at age 14 he settled 
in southern Butte County, in Palermo, California.
  Of course, his ``Moriss Taylor Show,'' he was the beloved host of 
that from 1956 to 1995 on KHSL-TV, Channel 12, from Chico, California.

                              {time}  2100

  He had an incredible 39-year run of entertaining folks each weekend. 
His show was a soothing blend of relaxing country western music and 
original music performed by himself and his many talented guests.
  Many of the members of his band were people you would see just right 
around Butte County in northern California that worked during the week 
in places that anybody would likely patronize. I have seen his band 
members at auto parts stores where I shop, or at the feed store where I 
shop over time, and many others like that. They were just regular folks 
in the community who were blending their talents with Moriss Taylor on 
the weekend and other venues around northern California.
  As kids, we used to watch the show on the weekends and we grew up 
listening to the country music staples on his show as well as the 
jokes. Some might say they were corny jokes, but they were also clean 
jokes and something you can just have a little chuckle over and enjoy.
  But they indeed were a staple, along with the country music in their 
own right. So, for example, I have got to share a couple of them.
  One of his jokes would be: ``They say dogs make great chiropractors 
because they know where all the bones are.''
  Or, ``Did you hear the one about the dentist who married the 
manicurist? They have been fighting tooth and nail ever since.''
  See what I mean?
  They might make you groan a little bit, but they do make you smile, 
and they sure make you think of a different time when things were just 
a little simpler, a little more respectful, and innocent.
  Moriss also hosted a weekly radio show from the 1940s until his 
retirement. Indeed, the show brought tremendous happiness to many 
people in northern California. What is not maybe as well known about 
Moriss is that he was also a decorated veteran of World War II, where 
he flew in a cargo plane between India and China. He went on to receive 
the Distinguished Flying Cross, which is second only in prestige to the 
Medal of Honor.
  Again, being an Oklahoman, he moved to northern California, where he 
quickly became a local icon in our community. He was well loved and a 
great patriot.
  One time, in a personal experience, I was out campaigning, going door 
to door, this time in Chico, California, and I happened upon his door. 
He opened it up, and I hadn't really looked at the walk sheet too 
closely at that point. It was night, so there he was, Moriss Taylor at 
the door. So I was kind of taken aback because here is the local 
legend.
  He invited me right in and we sat down for a little bit, and he told 
me a little bit about his politics there and that he was a participant 
as well. It didn't come out in the show, and probably good and 
respectfully so. But he said: ``You know, Doug, you are all right and I 
support you. You are doing a good job,'' which means a lot from a guy 
like that, that somehow maybe I am on the right track here.
  So each week on his show they played a lot of songs and made a lot of

[[Page H548]]

jokes, and he would end the show with his original song called ``High 
Sierra.'' So maybe I will share just a few of those lyrics right now:

     High Sierra, skies are blue,
     Whispering pines remind me of you.
     Walking together, over meadows green,
     We pledged our love, by a rippling stream.
     I can see the sunlight shining on her golden hair
     And hear the words she told me as we were standing there.
     High Sierra, calling me home.

  It is at this point in the show where the credits would fade out. The 
lyrics would come to an end, and people were already waiting again for 
next Sunday to come around.
  As the song says, High Sierra is once again calling him home. After 
93 years of enriching the lives of northern Californians, many of us 
were fortunate enough to sing along with him during those 93 years. 
Those memories won't fade. There will never be another like Moriss 
Taylor. He will be greatly missed, indeed.
  High Sierra, calling him home.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________