[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 23]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 31950]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE McALLEN MONITOR

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                           HON. HENRY CUELLAR

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 15, 2009

  Mr. CUELLAR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the 100th 
anniversary of the McAllen Monitor, which has served as a vital news 
source for the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas and our communities.
  This newspaper has accomplished a ``century of service'' to our 
community over the years.
  From copy boys in the past, to computers in the present, the Monitor 
has kept an unprecedented pulse on south Texas.
  They've generated news and reports of historic people, legends, 
events, tragedies and accomplishments, that have served to shape the 
story of the Rio Grande Valley.
  The first issue was released on December 11, 1909.
  The Monitor was founded in a small facility at the corner of Beaumont 
and Broadway in McAllen, Texas.
  It was ``humble beginnings'' for our neighborhood paper.
  Now the Monitor has a 100,000 square foot building, equipped with 
modern equipment and journalists of all backgrounds.
  Over the past 100 years, the Monitor has undergone change, along with 
changes in news on a daily basis.
  The paper was even renamed four times. But the spirit of its content, 
unchanged through all the years.
  For a century now, the Monitor has provided a steady flow of 
information as a trusted news source throughout the region.
  The McAllen Monitor has covered groundbreaking news items that have 
shaped the Nation, State, and community.
  From 1909 to 2009, the newspaper has covered landmark events 
including:
  ``Black Tuesday'' when the Nation fell into the Great Depression;
  1933 when a hurricane hit Brownsville to McAllen;
  and in August 1957, a Russian spy was taken into custody in McAllen.
  In 1968, Hispanics participated in a walkout at Ecouch-Elsa High 
School because of unjust treatment in the school.
  Three years later, Cesar Chavez visited the Valley followed by the 
great late Senator Edward ``Ted'' Kennedy who visited the Valley in 
October 1980.
  These are landmark, local civil rights movements in our community.
  For all these events in history, the Monitor was there.
  That's why they are our trusted newsource in the Rio Grande Valley, 
McAllen and in south Texas.
  They are our local newspaper who understands the spirit of our City 
and the values of our People.
  Madam Speaker, I am honored to recognize the 100th anniversary of the 
McAllen Monitor newspaper.
  The Monitor is celebrating 100 years of service, continuing its 
mission for the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas.
  A century of news for our community, so I commend and congratulate 
the Monitor with the greatest gratitude.

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