[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 10097]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              LUBEC, MAINE

 Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, Lubec, ME, is the easternmost town 
in the United States, the place where the rising Sun first shines on 
America. That unique geographic location has special meaning in this, 
Lubec's bicentennial year. Today, as they have for two centuries, the 
people of Lubec greet every day with the optimism and determination 
each dawn brings.
  Located on a slender peninsula that separates Passamaquoddy Bay and 
the Atlantic Ocean, Lubec is more than a town on the sea. It is a town 
of the sea. Its 95 miles of shoreline once were lined with cargo-filled 
docks, shipyards, sail makers, canneries, smokehouses, and tide-powered 
sawmills. Its namesake, Lubeck, Germany, was chosen to emulate that 
ancient seafaring city's role as a center of open and free trade. The 
magnificent sea captain homes throughout the town stand as monuments to 
Lubec's role as an early hub of America's global commerce.
  Now, it is a shoreline of aquaculture pens, lobster traps, and urchin 
and scallop boats. For those seeking a genuine downeast Maine 
experience, the former ``Sardine Capital of the World'' has become an 
outdoor recreation paradise, an ecotourism destination, and a haven for 
artists. The West Quoddy Lighthouse, with its iconic red and white 
stripes, is recognized the world over. The Franklin Delano Roosevelt 
Memorial Bridge, the link to Campobello Island, New Brunswick, gives 
Lubec an international flavor.
  The town of Lubec was incorporated on June 21, 1811, but its origins 
lie in prehistory. For 12,000 years before the first European settlers 
arrived, the land was home to the Passamaquoddy Tribe, and the original 
``People of the Dawn'' still are part of the community today.
  Lubec is a town of the first light and of the first patriots. One 
early settler was Colonel John Allan who in 1777 was charged by General 
George Washington with defending the remote yet vital region. He 
repelled a British amphibious invasion and forged an alliance for 
liberty with the Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, and Micmac tribes. Another 
early resident was Hopley Yeaton, who served in the Continental Navy. 
In 1790, he was appointed by President George Washington as the first 
commissioned officer in our young Nation's maritime security and safety 
service--he is known today as the ``Father of the United States Coast 
Guard.''
  During the War of 1812, Lubec stood strong against a British 
occupation just 2 miles across the bay. In the Civil War, 200 young 
men--one-eighth of the town's entire population--answered the call of 
freedom. Lubec's commitment reaches from the front lines to the home 
front--during World War II, the workers at the R.J. Peacock Canning 
Company received a special citation from the War Food Department for 
their untiring efforts and patriotic service.
  And the town has found itself on the front lines in the conflicts of 
our time. On September 11, 2001, Jackie and Robert Norton were flying 
to California for a family wedding. They perished at the World Trade 
Center. The people of Lubec will always remember those dear neighbors 
who, from their beautiful gardens to their community service, gave so 
much to the town.
  The spirit of Lubec is exemplified in the life of Myron Avery. From 
the tiny North Lubec Grammar School and the village high school, he 
went on to Bowdoin College and Harvard Law School to become a jurist of 
national renown. He served our Nation in both world wars as a Navy 
officer. In between, he turned the vision of the Appalachian Trail into 
reality and was the first to hike its entire 2,000 miles in one effort, 
from Georgia to Maine. Commitment to service, reverence for nature, and 
building for the future--that is the spirit of Lubec.
  On this Fourth of July, Lubec, ME, will hold its Grand Bicentenary 
Jubilee. It will be a day of great food, music, and fun. It will be a 
day for the people of this wonderful town to look back at the past two 
centuries with pride, and to look ahead at the century to come with 
optimism and determination.

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