[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 164 (Thursday, October 17, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1299-E1300]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             300TH ANNIVERSARY OF GARRETSON FORGE AND FARM

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                          HON. JOSH GOTTHEIMER

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 17, 2019

  Mr. GOTTHEIMER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Garretson 
Forge and Farm, a national historical landmark in Fair Lawn, New 
Jersey. This year marks the 300th anniversary of the settlement of 
Garretson in 1719. Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of the 
volunteers of Garretson Forge and Farm Restoration, Inc., this special 
property has been preserved and kept open to the community. In 
recognition of Garretson's anniversary, I would like to include in the 
Record the poem `A Heritage to Keep,' by William F. Haywood which 
captures the long history of Garretson Forge and Farm, a Bergen County 
treasure:

     The traffic moves in swifter pace
     Around the bend that holds this place
     In gentle curves where time has flown
     And countless passers it has known.

     The silent step of moccasin,
     The echoing of forge's din;
     A gangling pine saw all of these,
     New homes replacing other trees.

     The continental soldier came,
     Lone hunter seeking wary game,
     A farmer tilling fertile soil
     Where the river turns its coil.

     So generations came and went
     Through seasons ill and fairly spent.

[[Page E1300]]

     The Garretsons had built to last,
     While time has added to the past
     A heritage for here and now--
     To keep it whole should be our vow.

  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing 
Garretson Forge and Farm's 300th anniversary. I know that we will 
continue to enjoy Garretson for many generations to come.

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