[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 19215]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      HONORING LUISA DeLAURO AS SHE CELEBRATES HER 100TH BIRTHDAY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, December 16, 2013

  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, it is always an honor for me to have the 
opportunity to rise and recognize the accomplishments of those I so 
proudly represent. Today, however, is particularly special as I stand 
to pay tribute to my mother, Luisa DeLauro, who will celebrate her 
100th birthday this December 24. She is--by any definition--an 
extraordinary woman, whose passion for family and civic service made 
all the difference in our lives and in our community.
  Born December 24, 1913, at 111 Wooster Street, my mother was one of 
six children. She grew up in the heart of New Haven's Italian American 
community and spent most of her childhood in my grandmother's pastry 
shop, Canestri's. It was in the Wooster Square neighborhood that my 
mother learned the importance of family, respect, and community. She 
married my father, Ted, in 1938 and they successfully balanced a life 
of family and community service. I have vivid memories of my parents 
sitting with neighbors at our kitchen table--particularly newly 
immigrated families--and my mother and father doing all they could to 
help them overcome whatever obstacle they were facing. My mother was no 
stranger to hard work. When I was growing up, she worked in a 
sweatshop, sewing shirt collars for pennies. Every day she would make 
me come by after school to see the horrible, cramped conditions. It is 
something I will never forget. The lesson was clear: work hard. Make 
something of yourself. Get a good education.
  My mother was elected to the Board of Alderman in 1965--a position 
she held for 35 years and which stands today as the record for the 
longest serving member of that Board. In her time on the Board, she 
focused much of her attention on her childhood community--seeing 
Wooster Square designated as the City's first Historic District, 
initiating the annual Cherry Blossom Festival, and recognizing 
distinguished residents and organizations with the honorary naming of 
streets and corners--but she was also a fierce advocate, particularly 
for senior citizens and children.
  My mother knew the importance of helping people--she understood that 
politics was an avenue for change. She also understood that women had 
an obligation to participate in the political process. When I first ran 
for Congress in 1990, I found an article my mother wrote in the 10th 
ward Democratic newsletter in 1933, now 80 years ago. Serving as 
Secretary of the organization at the time, amazingly, she wrote:

       It is not my intention to be critical, rather my motive in 
     writing this article is to encourage the female members of 
     this organization to take a more active part in its affairs. 
     We are not living in the middle ages when a woman's part in 
     life was merely to serve her master in her home, but we have 
     gradually taken our place in every phase of human endeavor, 
     and even in the here-to-for stronghold of the male sex: 
     politics. I have noticed that the girls, unlike the men, are 
     timid in asserting themselves, and many a good idea is lost, 
     having been suppressed by its creator. Come on girls, let's 
     make ourselves heard.

  And so, mom, I want to take this opportunity to say, ``You made 
yourself heard.'' You continue to make us all proud. Thank you and 
congratulations on your centennial anniversary. You are your daughter's 
greatest inspiration.

                          ____________________