[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5693]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF EARL C. HARGROVE JR.

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 28, 2015

  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a friend and a great 
Marylander, Earl Christian Hargrove Jr., who passed away on April 6 at 
the age of eighty-six. I've known Earl for many years, and I am certain 
that he will be missed by a great many people throughout the Greater 
Washington area.
  Earl was a larger than life presence in Harwood, Maryland. His 
estate--Holly Springs Farm--attracts thousands of neighbors and 
residents from throughout the region each Christmas with a captivating 
display of holiday lights and decorations. A graduate of Bladensburg 
High School in 1946, Earl served in the U.S. Marine Corps that same 
year and was honorably discharged in 1948. When the Korean War broke 
out, however, Earl re-enlisted and served his country in uniform until 
1954. Following his military service, he returned to Maryland and to 
the business he had launched with his father, Earl Hargrove Sr., in the 
late 1940s creating parade floats and specialty decorations.
  Known affectionately as ``the President's prop-man,'' Earl provided 
event staging for every presidential inauguration since Harry Truman's 
in 1949. In January 2013, his company, Hargrove Inc., did so once again 
for the second inauguration of President Barack Obama. Earl Jr. became 
president of the company after his father's sudden death in 1971, and 
today the business is run by Earl's daughter, Carla Hargrove McGill, 
and son-in-law, Timothy McGill. Hargrove Inc. continues to employ 
talented artists and craftspeople who design and plan some of 
Washington's largest events and conferences, including the National 
Walk for Epilepsy, the annual AIPAC Policy Conference, and the White 
House Correspondents Dinner.
  My thoughts and prayers are with his beloved wife of sixty years, 
Gloria Love Hargrove, his children Earl ``Chris'' Hargrove III, 
Kathleen Hargrove Kelly and her husband Clyde, Carla Hargrove McGill 
and her husband Timothy, Cynthia Diane Hargrove and her husband Michael 
Busada, and Carey Martin Hargrove and his wife Wendy Miller, and his 
seven grandchildren. May his memory continue to bring strength and 
comfort to them and to all of us who were fortunate to know and cherish 
Earl Hargrove Jr.

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