[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 125 (Wednesday, July 24, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E979]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





          CELEBRATION OF THE SESQUICENTENNIAL OF HIGGINSVILLE

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                          HON. EMANUEL CLEAVER

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 24, 2019

  Mr. CLEAVER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
sesquicentennial of Higginsville, Missouri. For the past 150 years, 
Higginsville has served as the hub of Lafayette County and the home of 
a tight-knit, caring community. May it stand for another 150 years as a 
glittering example to other towns around the country.
  In 1869, the town was incorporated on land purchased by its namesake, 
Harvey Higgins. A post office was soon established, and the growth of 
the town took off from there. The first school was built in 1886 and 
enrolled 572 students by 1888. Powered by coal mines, manufacturing, 
and agriculture, the population exploded until it had over 2,500 people 
living there in 1910. To point the way to a bustling town, the yellow 
``Welcome to Higginsville'' finger signs were installed on Highway 13 
and US Highway 40 (now I-70) in 1924. These four iconic signs stand 
today as a sunny tribute to the hospitality of Higginsville's people.
  The 20th century and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal 
programs brought development and investment, including Fairground park, 
a swimming pool, and a new post office with a mural done by a student 
of the great regionalist painter Thomas Hart Benton. After World War 
II, further investment brought a golf course, additions to the park, a 
new city hall, new school buildings, and a municipal airport.
  In 1967, the Higginsville and Corder School districts were 
consolidated forming the Lafayette County C-1 school district. The 
school has grown to serve almost a thousand students and stands as a 
center of academic excellence. It was Accredited with Distinction in 
Performance by the State of Missouri for the 2009-2010 school year. The 
district's competent instructors, small class sizes, and abundant 
resources makes it one of the best schools in the county.
  Situated less than fifty miles outside of Kansas City and near I-70, 
Higginsville residents have the advantages of both easy access to city 
and country living. Jobs in Kansas City are easily accessible, and 
there are also good jobs in Higginsville. Lafayette County's top 
employer is the Higginsville Habilitation Center and Northwest 
Community Services. Higginsville also serves as the central police 
dispatch for Lafayette County, making it essential to keeping the whole 
county safe. Higginsville also has innumerable civil society 
organizations and churches that are the backbone of the community. From 
the Freemasons and the Odd Fellows to the Rotary and 4-H, the people of 
Higginsville are civically minded and active volunteers. These 
volunteers come together every September to put on the Country Fair, a 
bustling week of activities and contests that culminates in a bustling 
street fair and parade.
  Furthermore, Higginsville is home to some of the best retirement 
facilities in the area. Meyer Care Center and John Knox Village East (a 
not-for-profit retirement community) are cornerstones of the community 
and world-class homes for senior citizens.
  The quality schools, solid jobs, and caring retirement communities 
make Higginsville a good place to grow-up, work, and retire. 
Higginsville is successful because of its citizens' commitment to 
improving the community, through their community organizations, 
churches, and fraternal spirit. This commitment will never diminish, 
and Higginsville will continue to be a crossroads of Missouri and the 
center of Lafayette County. Madam Speaker, please join me, Missouri's 
Fifth Congressional District, and citizens across the nation in 
honoring the City of Higginsville for 150 years of community and 
growth.

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