[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 11 (Tuesday, January 18, 2022)]
[House]
[Page H208]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF JOHN RICE IRWIN

  (Mr. BURCHETT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BURCHETT. Madam Speaker, I rise to celebrate the life of John 
Rice Irwin, a renowned historian and the founder of east Tennessee's 
Museum of Appalachia. He recently passed away at 91 years of age.
  John joined the U.S. Army and was stationed in Germany during the 
Korean war. When he returned to east Tennessee, he began a career in 
education and became Anderson County Schools' youngest superintendent 
at the age of 31.
  It was around this time John started collecting old-timey Appalachian 
items. John was fascinated by east Tennessee's rich cultural history, 
and he traveled around the region to collect artifacts and document 
stories of how the people lived long ago. He even bought a historic 
cabin and restored it to what it would have looked like when it was 
first built.
  Madam Speaker, that little cabin became the Museum of Appalachia, 
which opened in 1969 and received around 600 visitors during its first 
year. John kept expanding the museum, and now it covers 65 acres, 
contains over 250,000 historical artifacts, and welcomes tens of 
thousands of guests each year. Anyone who visits the museum will 
recognize John's passion for the Appalachian heritage.
  Former Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander displayed loaned artifacts 
from John's museum in his Washington office until his retirement in 
2020. These same artifacts are now on display in my Washington office, 
and I am reminded of John's incredible work each time I walk through 
the front door.
  Rest in peace, brother. Thank you for telling the stories of our 
historic Appalachian community.

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