-9999
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mister Speaker, I rise today along with my colleague Congressman Jared Huffman to honor Gaye Theresa LeBaron in celebration of her outstanding career as a journalist, teacher, author and historian.
Born in the town of Scotia, California, in 1935, Mrs. LeBaron moved to Boyes Hots Springs in Sonoma County when she was 14 years old. She attended Santa Rosa Junior College before transferring to the University of California, Berkeley to pursue a bachelor's degree in English and History.
Her illustrious career as an historian and human-interest columnist at the Press Democrat in Santa Rosa, California, began in 1955 when she became an intern. During her 65 years with the Press Democrat as a reporter and later columnist, she wrote 8,500 columns, married her late husband John LeBaron and had her 2 children, Suzanne and Tony. Mrs. LeBaron has since gifted her research notes, correspondence, memoirs, unpublished documents, newspaper clippings and photographs to Sonoma State University. Students and the public enjoy access to the Gaye LeBaron Collection.
Mrs. LeBaron has a deep love of Sonoma County history. She told our county's story as a lecturer at the Santa Rosa Junior College for 35 years as well as at Sonoma State University's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. She has written 3 books on the history of Santa Rosa: Santa Rosa: A Nineteenth Century Town, Santa Rosa: A Twentieth Century Town, and The Wonder Seekers of Fountaingrove. Mrs. LeBaron also served on the Sonoma County Museum Leadership Council, further dedicating herself to the history of Sonoma County. Now her permanent exhibit at the museum, Sonoma County Stories, will ensure future generations can experience her life's work.
Widely renowned in our community, Mrs. LeBaron received the Representative Mike Thompson Sonoma County Woman of the Year Award in 2016, an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Sonoma State University and a President's Medallion from the Santa Rosa Junior College Foundation.
Mr. Speaker, it is evident that Mrs. LeBaron has dedicated her life to the people of Sonoma County through her writing, teaching and service.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source