[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 21123-21124]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         50TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY OF CAROLYN AND BLACKIE EVANS

  Mr. REID. Madam President, I rise today to tell a happy story. In 
fact, it almost sounds like a Hollywood love story.
  I first met Claude ``Blackie'' Evans in Henderson, NV, when I was the 
city attorney. Our first meeting involved a traffic issue that Blackie 
had before the municipal judge.
  Blackie had come to Henderson from his hometown of Galena, KS. In 
fact, he hitchhiked to Nevada the day after he graduated from high 
school.
  Blackie used to spend time at the Henderson Boys Club. He was a 
Golden Gloves boxer, and he fought in the ring there.
  He also was a fighter out of the ring--he fought for his union 
brothers, and for all the working men and women of Nevada.
  A few months after Blackie came to Henderson, his high school 
sweetheart followed him. Blackie had played football in high school and 
Carolyn was a cheerleader, and they made a great couple. On September 
7, 1953, they were married in Las Vegas.
  Blackie went to work at Titanium Metal Corp., and he and Carolyn 
started to raise a family. Over the next few years they would have four 
wonderful children: Steve, Sheree, Seanna, and Lisa.
  They raised their kids and worked hard. After Blackie had been at the 
Timet factory for about 5 years, he was

[[Page 21124]]

elected vice president of United Steelworkers Local 4856. Three weeks 
later, at age 23, he became the local's youngest president ever. He 
held that position for 12 years while also working in the plant.
  In 1971, my former high school teacher Mike O'Callaghan, who had 
become Governor of Nevada, appointed Blackie as the Commissioner 
representing labor on the old Nevada Industrial Commission. The Evans 
family moved to Carson City, where Carolyn narrated tours through the 
Governor's Mansion in her spare time from raising four children.
  In 1978, Blackie was elected secretary treasurer of the Nevada AFL-
CIO, a position he held until his retirement in July 1999. He also 
served as a national vice president of the AFL-CIO. During this time, I 
often crossed paths with Blackie. Together, we worked to help the 
working families of Nevada.
  Today, Blackie and Carolyn still live in Henderson, NV, the town he 
hitchhiked to some 50 years ago. Carolyn's mother Nadine Qualls, who 
turns 91 in November, lives with them.
  They are blessed to have two grandchildren living in Henderson--Alex 
Bacon, 12, and Geena German, 7--and two grandchildren in Reno--Brittany 
Cassingham, 20, a student at UNR, and Cierra Cassingham, 16, a junior 
in high school.
  On September 7, 2003, Blackie and Carolyn will celebrate 50 years of 
marriage. The celebration will be a tribute to their love of each 
other, and to the rich, productive life they have enjoyed together.
  I congratulate Carolyn and Blackie on their wonderful marriage and 
family, and I wish them many more years of happiness together.

                          ____________________