[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Page 2735]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO EDITH TUCKER

 Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, last month, one of New 
Hampshire's most respected veteran journalists retired after two 
decades of prolific work at the Coos County Democrat, a weekly 
newspaper based in Lancaster, in my State's North Country. I have had 
the privilege of knowing Edith and admiring her work since I first ran 
for Governor in 1996. In particular, I have respected her extraordinary 
work ethic. She was the only full-time reporter with the Democrat, 
often filing several stories a day. At times, the front page would be 
filled with stories carrying her byline.
  No story was too big or too small for Edith. She covered Presidential 
campaigns, select board meetings, festivals, factory openings, and, 
among her last stories, a characteristically detailed and colorful 
article on a proposal to renew bobcat hunting in the North Country.
  Over the years, Edith became a fixture on the landscape of New 
Hampshire's first-in-the-Nation primary. Presidential candidates knew 
that to gain credibility with North Country voters, they needed to 
successfully navigate a grilling from Edith. She has been a regular 
public affairs commentator on ``The Exchange with Laura Knoy,'' a 
popular New Hampshire Public Radio call-in show.
  As State Representative Rebecca Brown, a longtime colleague of hers, 
noted: ``Edith embraced small town reporting. She was indefatigable, 
including putting countless miles on the old Jeep, in which she took to 
carrying a step ladder in case she needed to get a better camera 
vantage over a taller crowd.''
  Edith speaks with unrivaled knowledge and insight about her beat, the 
North Country. No reporter has better captured the struggle and 
indomitable spirit of that region. In her early years with the 
Democrat, her stories documented the pain and upheaval of too many 
devastating factory closings and job losses. More recently, she has 
covered heartening stories of new businesses and development projects 
flowing to the region, creating new jobs and opportunities.
  In many retirement tributes, Edith Tucker has been described as a 
North Country institution and icon, but I suspect Edith would prefer to 
be recognized simply as a skilled, hard-working beat journalist, always 
determined to get the story right and keep her community informed. She 
did exactly that for two decades.
  Edith Tucker has made the Granite State a better place, both by what 
she has accomplished and by who she is. There are many more stories--
and chapters--yet to be written in the life of this beloved and 
accomplished journalist. I join with people across the North Country in 
thanking Edith for a job superbly done and wishing her many happy years 
in retirement.

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