[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 9135]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



           75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE VERMONT STATE PARK SYSTEM

 Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the 
75th anniversary of the Vermont State Park System.
  In 1924 Frances Humphreys donated the peak of Mt. Philo and 
surrounding lands to the State of Vermont as the first State Park. Mt. 
Philo was the perfect location for the first park; looking east from 
the summit one views Lake Champlain, North America's most beautiful 
lake stretching as far as the eye can see to the north and south; 
looking west one views the Green Mountain range rolling across Vermont 
to the Connecticut River. There are limitless recreational 
opportunities within and surrounding our first park.
  After 75 years, Vermont now has 50 State Parks, from Alburg Dunes on 
Lake Champlain, to Wilgus on the Connecticut River; from Mount 
Mansfield, Vermont's highest peak to Quechee, our deepest gorge.
  Vermont's State Parks are rich in history. Many of the nation's first 
ski trails were carved out in Vermont State Parks by the Civilian 
Conservation Corps, creating the New England ski industry. Under the 
direction Perry Merrill, who oversaw the State Parks for 37 years, more 
than 40,000 ``CCC Boys'' created a parks infrastructure that is intact, 
and unparalleled even today.
  Recognition should also go to the many Vermonters who, over the 
years, have followed the example of Frances Humphreys in donating land 
to become state parks, including one of our newest parks, Sentinel 
Rock, which was recently donated by Windsor and Florence Wright.
  Mr. President, it is with great pleasure that I recognize 75 years of 
visionary conservation and recreation development by the State of 
Vermont, and by those who have conceived and built the State Park 
System.

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