[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 19063]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     TRIBUTE TO WALTER B. JAEHNIG OF MICHIGAN ON HIS 90TH BIRTHDAY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MIKE ROGERS

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 22, 2003

  Mr. ROGERS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the 
accomplishments of Walter B. Jaehnig on the occasion of his 90th 
birthday celebration.
  Walter B. Jaehnig is a remarkable man whose career in journalism 
spanned more than 36 years, most of them at The Daily News in 
Greenville, Michigan. During those years, he impacted his community and 
those with whom he worked in thousands of ways.
  From 1943 until 1979, Wallie worked at The Daily News, doing 
everything from working as a linotype operator those first years, to 
writing sports beginning in 1944, and serving most of that time as 
managing editor and sports editor. Even after retirement, he continued 
as a sports writer for the newspaper.
  Wallie's devotion to his community and the young people there is 
legendary. It was his joy in school sports that made The Daily News an 
integral part of the high school sports scene and boosted the 
popularity of those sports throughout the Greenville area.
  Boys or girls sports, from baseball to basketball to football to 
track and more--Wallie was attending, watching, encouraging, analyzing 
and reporting the exploits of the area's young athletes. His career-
long collection of game score books chronicled his devotion to the ups 
and downs of those athletes and the men and women who coached them.
  During his years at the newspaper, Wallie also mentored untold 
numbers of young journalists, teaching them the basics of their trade 
and introducing them to the real world of community journalism. 
Greenville and Montcalm County, they soon learned from Wallie, was a 
place where the newspaper cared deeply for its mission and the people 
and community it served. Wallie exemplified that attitude of service to 
the people who were the lifeblood of his career. Today his proteges are 
scattered throughout the United States, many of them following in 
Wallie's footsteps as community journalists with a heart for the people 
they serve.
  Throughout his career and still today, it has been Wallie's family 
who were first in his life. His beloved wife, Adele B. Jaehnig, whom he 
married in 1937, and their three children, Faith, Walter Jr. and 
Candace were the center of his life. After Adele's death in 1990, 
Wallie continued to center his life around his children and six 
grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. On Sunday, July 27, 2003, 
his family and friends will gather to celebrate nine decades of a life 
that has been a joy to all who know and have known Wallie.
  Mr. Speaker, we wish to extend congratulations to Walter B. Jaehnig 
on the occasion of his 90th birthday. We are honored to recognize his 
many accomplishments and ask that our colleagues in the U.S. House of 
Representatives join in recognizing his very worthy achievements and 
wishing him a very happy 90th birthday.

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