[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5943]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO MANUEL HERNANDEZ

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DEVIN NUNES

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 6, 2005

  Mr. NUNES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my colleague Representative 
Jim Costa, to pay tribute today to Manuel Hernandez, a long-time 
community activist in Visalia, California, who died February 25th at 
the age of 91.
  Mr. Hernandez was affectionately known as the ``Godfather of North 
Visalia,'' where he mentored many up and coming leaders in the large 
Latino community.
  He was born in 1913 in Torreon, in the Coahuila state of northern 
Mexico. His family moved to the United States in the 1920s. He worked 
in the fields earning a living by picking cotton, oranges, peaches and 
other crops for as little as 15 cents an hour.
  Later, he worked cleaning up after construction crews. He became a 
carpenter and took certification courses at College of the Sequoias to 
become a construction supervisor.
  In the 1960s, he was involved in the formation of Self-Help 
Enterprises, helping low-income families build and own homes. As a 
longtime member of the Self-Help board and during his service with a 
long list of organizations and citizens advisory committees, including 
the Tulare County Grand Jury, he was an advocate for Visalia's less 
fortunate.
  Hundreds gathered at his funeral in March, and as his hearse drove to 
the cemetery, children stood on the sidewalk and saluted him.
  Once again, we urge our colleagues to join us in applauding his many 
years of selfless dedication to the community he loved. His legacy of 
hard work, compassion, and cooperation stands as an example for us all.

                          ____________________