CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— Extensions of Remarks E1915 HON
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October 2, 1997 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð Extensions of Remarks E1915 Its very walls pronounce its fame. The Summit, N.Y. ``I worked side by side with national security implications of what the So- central element of the decor, which Mrs. her. She wanted to get somewhere. Believe viet Union had accomplished. Thus, October Woods describes as ``comfortable, decent and you me, nobody gave her nothing. She 4, 1957 marked not only the birth of the space clean,'' are photographs of many notable earned it.'' visitors. Mrs. Woods was reared by her mother, age, but also the birth of the space race be- The former Republican Vice-Presidential Julia Pressley, on their 35-acre farm in Hem- tween America and the Soviet UnionÐa race candidate Jack Kemp, Labor Secretary Alex- ingway, S.C., a patchwork of small farms that was simply one more symbol of the cold is Herman, the media mogul Quincy Jones with more wagons than cars when she was war rivalry of the two superpowers. and the actor Denzel Washington in the role growing up. Yet, from the vantage point of 40 years of just another diner are among scores of Her father died two days before she was later, that rivalry is not the main legacy of those whose pictures are on display in the born, Mrs. Woods said, a victim of gassing Sputnik. Instead, its legacy is embodied in the three cobbled-together rooms that make up during World War I. ``I've never seen his face, countless ways in which humanity's explo- Sylvia's. not even a photo.'' ration and utilization of space have enriched Winnie Mandela dined there three times. While picking beans for extra money for Diana Ross asked for seconds of Sylvia's the family, she said, she met Herbert Woods. all of us and fundamentally transformed our Sassy Rice. Muhammad Ali used to roam His mother had died, and he was being raised lives. along the steam tables fetching his own bis- by his step-father in Hemingway. She was 11, We take for granted so much of what the cuits. Spike Lee filmed a scene of his 1991 and he was 12. By their early teens, both re- space program has accomplished, that it is im- film, ``Jungle Fever'' in a corner of the res- called, they were falling in love. portant to remember what the last four dec- taurant now memorialized with a huge auto- Their affection was so strong, Mr. Woods ades of space activities have brought us. graphed poster for the movie. said, that when she went to New York with These include, but are by no means limited to It has long been a favorite haunt for up- her mother, who worked as a domestic to the following: Satellite communications, which town's power elite. Mr. Sutton remembered buy more farmland back home, he joined the has brought the rest of the world as close to how over the years he held meetings at Syl- Navy. He thought that as a sailor he might via's with figures like Robert F. Kennedy sail to Brooklyn and see his sweetheart, he us as our telephone receiver and our tele- and Jesse Jackson. said. vision set; meteorological satellites, which But whenever one of her customers asks ``As close as I got was Norfolk, Va,'' Mr. have revolutionized weather forecasting and Mrs. Woods who was the most famous star to Woods said with a soundless chuckle. He storm warnings; space-based remote sensing, dine there, she responds with a rhetorical soon found himself in the middle of the Pa- which has promoted our national security, question and then answers it. cific Ocean and World War II as a cook on helped us to understand and manage our en- ``Who's the most famous star to come into light cruisers and transports. ``When I was in the restaurant?'' she asks warmly. ``You.'' vironment and our resources, as well as help- the Navy, that's all you could be,'' he said of ing us to monitor natural hazards; and sat- Mrs. Woods says the success of their $3 the era's segregated armed forces. million-a-year restaurant is due as much to Eventually, they married and moved to ellite-based navigation, which has spawned its unshakable sense of Southern hospitality Harlem. He drove a cab; she worked for the numerous terrestrial applications and products, as to the food itself. Johnsons. and which offers the promised of improved air ``You got to make people feel like they're In 1961, Mr. Johnson, who owned three res- traffic management. In addition, space re- at home,'' Mrs. Woods said. ``You got to taurants, turned to Sylvia Woods when his search has left a wealth of technologies in its make people feel like you appreciate them. plans to build an upstate resort for blacks wake that have provided new materials, medi- That love and affection and caring will carry overextended him financially. you where money can never carry.'' cal diagnostic and monitoring devices, im- ``He wanted me to buy the restaurant from proved power systemsÐthe list goes on and If she is not going over menus and day-to- him to raise some money,'' Mrs. Woods re- day details in her closet of an officeÐ``Syl- called. ``I said: `Johnson, are you crazy? You onÐto benefit our citizens. It is no exaggera- via's Room'' is burned into the doorÐshe is know I don't have any money.' '' tion to say the space has spawned industries minding the steam tables or ``talking up cus- But the mortgage from Mrs. Woods' moth- and jobs that have become a significant part tomers'' in a voice from her South Carolina er provided the down payment on the $20,000 of our Nation's economy. roots. price for the restaurant, the start of an em- Beyond the material benefits, our first 40 ``I walks the floor,'' Mrs. Woods explained. pire now worth $20 million. In 1988, Mrs. years in space have led to dramatic increases ``If a person is not eating the food, I want to Woods bought the upstate resort to prevent in our understanding of planet Earth, of the know why. `Well, I'm not hungry,' I say, uh- Mrs. Johnson, by then a widow and in finan- uh, you have to bring it better than that. Sun and our solar system, and of the universe cial trouble, from losing it on the auction beyond. Space research has led to numerous You wouldn't come in here, if you wasn't block. hungry.'' Looking back to the early days, Mrs. rewritings of the science textbooks with no Her accessibility, says Anthony Bowman, Woods recalled, ``It was really a struggle.'' end in sight. Anyone who has marveled at the who operates a Harlem-based tour company, But her success, she assured a visitor, was discoveries made by the Hubble space tele- has helped make her ``an icon.'' part of ``God's plan.'' She paused and folded scope or the Galileo spacecraft cannot doubt ``Most people who have gone there have at her hands. least once seen Sylvia,'' Mr. Bowman said: the truth of that statement. ``God is so good to me that I truly, truly ``She gives the place an identifiable face.'' And of course 40 years of accomplishments know that He would not bring me this far The couple say they are determined to in space have had an enormous inspirational and leave me alone,'' she said. ``No.'' maintain the personal touch in their new valueÐwhether through seeing images of branches. f human footsteps on the Moon, images of So, soft-spoken Herbert Woods, with his Earth as a beautiful blue globe, or images of broad, gentle face, slides behind the steering THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF an overachieving little robotic rover on the sur- wheel of their 1988 Rolls-Royce Silver Spur SPUTNIK face of the Mars. The value of such inspiration and drives with his wife 14 hoursÐnonstopÐ from their home in Mount Vernon, N.Y., to should not be underestimated. look in at the Atlanta restaurant, which is HON. GEORGE E. BROWN, JR. Finally, it should be noted that four decades owned by their daughter Bedelia Woods, 49. OF CALIFORNIA after the event that triggered the space race, ``We prefer to drive,'' Mrs. Woods said. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES we have come full circle and are approaching ``I don't mind flying, but I prefer not for space exploration as an endeavor to be con- Wednesday, October 1, 1997 both of us to fly together,'' Mr. Woods noted. ducted through international cooperation rather ``Just in case.'' Mr. BROWN of California. Mr. Speaker, Oc- than competition. Few may remember that Mrs. Woods disagreed, ``If we go, we go to- tober 4 marks the 40th anniversary of one of Sputnik was launched as a component of the gether.'' Their visit doesn't mean they don't have the most significant milestones in the history International Geophysical Year [IGY], an early confidence in their daughter or their other of humanity's exploration of space. I of course experiment in international scientific coopera- three children and the five grandchildren am speaking of the launching of the world's tion. Now, 40 years later, international co- who work in the family business. But Mom first artificial satelliteÐSputnikÐby the Soviet operation is becoming the norm for both and Dad's ``guidance'' is always helpful, they Union on October 4, 1957. human space flight and space science re- note. At the time, the successful orbiting of search. None of Mrs.