[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 14]
[House]
[Pages 18784-18785]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               ROBERT LINN MEMORIAL POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 4768) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 777 Corporation Street in Beaver, Pennsylvania, as 
the ``Robert Linn Memorial Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4768

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. ROBERT LINN MEMORIAL POST OFFICE BUILDING

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 777 Corporation Street in Beaver, 
     Pennsylvania, shall be known and designated as the ``Robert 
     Linn Memorial Post Office Building''.
       (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     facility referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be 
     a reference to the ``Robert Linn Memorial Post Office 
     Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from North Carolina.


                             General Leave

  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from North Carolina?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4768, offered by the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania 
(Ms. Hart), would designate the facility of the United States Post 
Office in Beaver, Pennsylvania, as the ``Robert Linn Memorial Post 
Office Building.''
  Mr. Speaker, Robert Linn passed away in August 2004, at the age of 
95. His accomplishment of serving the citizens of Beaver, Pennsylvania 
as mayor for a record-setting 58 years was a testament to his lasting 
dedication and friendship to the community.
  In 1995 Mayor Linn was officially listed in the Guinness Book of 
World Records as the longest-serving mayor in the United States. 
Although he had a long list of accomplishments, his Streetscape 
initiative, a town beautification project that removed power lines and 
concrete sidewalks from the main street, was among his greatest.
  Not only did Robert Linn serve his community as mayor for a record-
setting number of years, but he served as an educator at Beaver Falls 
Junior High School for 6 years, followed by a 36-year career at 
Duquesne Light Company.
  Mayor Linn's passion was socializing with the people he served, and 
many in town knew that one of his favorite activities was running the 
scoreboard for football games at Beaver High School.
  Although the position of mayor was a part-time job, Robert Linn will 
be remembered by the citizens of Beaver as their full-time champion. 
With gratitude for his devotion and service to the Beaver community, I 
ask all Members to join me in supporting H.R. 4768.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1815

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House Government Reform Committee, I 
am pleased to join my colleague in consideration of H.R. 4768, which 
names a postal facility in Beaver, Pennsylvania, after Robert Linn. 
H.R. 4768 was introduced by Representative Melissa Hart on February 16, 
2006. This measure, which has the support and cosponsorship of the 
entire Pennsylvania congressional delegation, was unanimously reported 
from our committee on May 4, 2006.
  Robert Linn, a native of Pennsylvania, was mayor of Beaver Borough 
for 58 years until his death on August 22, 2004. He is remembered for 
his success in making improvements on Main Street, renovations of 
historic buildings, and preservation of the history and charm of his 
city.
  Anyone who serves a city as its mayor for 58 years unequivocally and 
without a doubt had its interest at heart. And I can think of no more 
appropriate way of recognizing his impact than to name this facility in 
his honor.
  I strongly support this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the 
gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Hart).
  Ms. HART. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
  This is a very important issue to discuss. I think it is one that 
many of us often look at very casually as we are naming a post office, 
but many times citizens of America whose names go on these post offices 
are people that we know we need to remember. And I bring one of those 
individuals before us today in our legislation to name the post office 
in Beaver, Pennsylvania, after Robert Linn.
  Robert Linn was one of those amazing people who anybody who ever met 
him would never forget. So I rise in support of the Robert Linn 
Memorial Post Office in Beaver, Pennsylvania.
  He was sworn into office as the mayor of Beaver, Pennsylvania, on 
January 2, 1946, and he served the Borough of Beaver, Pennsylvania, for 
58 consecutive years as mayor. I am not exaggerating. It was really 58 
years. So he was able to see many of the people he married as mayor 
welcome their grandchildren and great-grandchildren into the world.
  Prior to taking over the position of mayor at its original salary of 
$2,500 a year, Mayor Linn worked for the Duquesne Light Company. His 
first job was handling customer service before he eventually became 
supervisor of employee benefits, and he actually retired from the 
company in 1974. He continued his service both in the public and 
private sector throughout his life, and he was really known as a 
gracious gentleman. As I mentioned, anybody who knew him would never 
forget him. He showed up every day in a coat and tie. It didn't matter 
if it was Sundays, Saturdays, early, late. He was always in a coat and 
tie.
  In 1995, the Guinness Book of World Records recognized Robert Linn as 
the longest-serving mayor in American history. His selflessness, his 
regard for the greater good, is reflected in these 15 consecutive terms 
that he served up until his death at age of 95 on August 22, 2004.
  There is much more to Bob Linn than just being the longest-serving 
mayor in American history. It was Bob Linn, the father of four 
daughters, Mary Scheidmantel of Beaver; Eleanor Hesser of Beaver; Mary 
Hockenberry of New Cumberland, Pennsylvania; and

[[Page 18785]]

Beth Mitchell of Virginia Beach, Virginia. There was Robert Linn, a 
grandfather of eight and a great-grandfather of one. He was definitely 
a dedicated family man, and he would do anything for his loved ones, 
including everyone in the Borough of Beaver.
  For example, when he was in his early 80s, he wanted to show his 
grandson that he, too, could ride a bicycle. Unfortunately, he learned 
the hard way that maybe he shouldn't be riding a bicycle. Although he 
was capable of running the town quite effectively as mayor in his 
advanced years, he was a little past his prime when it came to bike 
riding, when he fell off and broke his wrist, but he continued in his 
public service.
  There was Robert Linn, the mentor. A Beaver police chief was quoted 
as saying, ``One of the most important things that Mayor Linn ever told 
me was `You can think what you want, but once it is said, it is 
said.''' He said, ``I still to this day use this advice, and I pass it 
on to others. He was like a father to me,'' said Chief Anthony Hovanec.
  Bob Linn was a teacher for 6 years at the Beaver Falls Junior High 
School and a volunteer scorekeeper for the Beaver High School football 
games. He was just a man who loved his community.
  Finally, there was Robert Linn, the American and dedicated public 
servant, the one that I knew the best. He was a man dedicated to the 
community in which he lived to making sure it became better and better 
with every year he served in public life.
  Beaver Borough was Bob Linn's passion. His crowning achievement was 
the Streetscape project, which he proudly declared his finest 
accomplishment as mayor. This project received the Beaver Area Heritage 
Foundation's Harry S. Truman Beautification Award. The Streetscape 
transformed the Borough of Beaver into a real-life version of a Norman 
Rockwell painting. It removed all the utility poles, all the parking 
meters, and replaced them with trees and Victorian-style street lamps 
and bricked the sidewalks and streets.
  The Borough of Beaver and the 5,000 residents who live there still 
agree that Bob Linn's assessment that the borough was one of the ``best 
places you can be'' is certainly true. Mayor Linn was also successful 
in having the borough named a National Registry Historic District in 
1996 and successfully converted the old freight train station in town 
into a museum. In fact, so many locals gathered there in October of 
2000 that then-Governor George Bush, when he stopped his train on his 
cross-country tour, attracted so many residents of Beaver that they had 
to stop the train.
  The Borough of Beaver and the 5,000 residents who live there still 
agree that Bob Linn was the most effective community leader they have 
ever seen. And I think beyond just the Borough of Beaver, people in the 
Commonwealth and people across the Nation need to see as an example of 
public service what Bob Linn did.
  His effect on the borough goes much farther than aesthetics. He was a 
father, mentor, teacher, volunteer, and really the embodiment of a 
public servant. He truly loved Beaver to its core. He tirelessly 
dedicated himself and his life to making it the best place that it can 
be.
  I urge my colleagues to support the Robert Linn Memorial Post Office 
to honor a man who so generously dedicated his life to the town that he 
loved so future generations can know all about Bob Linn.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support the passage of 
H.R. 4768.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4768.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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