E1914 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks October 2, 1997 character and entrepreneurial spirit as they Conference Report. But I also want to restate looked like the opening of a department celebrate the 30th anniversary of Mario's my concern over the way in which we were store sale, as tourists from around the world, Tacos. I ask my colleagues to join me in salut- not given the opportunity to vote up or down in sneakers, shorts and T-shirts, along with other diners in waiting, some in their Sun- ing this fine establishment and extending on the cost-of-living adjustment for Members day best, anticipated the moment when they Mario and Celia Jimenez our fondest wishes of Congress during the fiscal year 1998 appro- could surge inside. for their continued success. priations process. If I had been given the When the door opened at 12:30 P.M., about f chance, I would have voted against it. 100 customers pressed forward, eager for fried I am a strong supporter of a number of im- chicken, salmon croquettes, collard greens, IN LOVING MEMORY OF BESSIE portant provisions in the conference report that candied yams, black-eyed peas and the live GILMORE has returned from the House/Senate Con- music of Sylvia’s Sunday gospel brunch. For those for whom soul food has literal ference Committee, and that is why I feel meaning, the weekly four-hour feast, in HON. BILL PASCRELL, JR. compelled to support it. These provisions in- which hundreds gather, was a reaffirming OF NEW JERSEY clude funding levels that are consistent with evocation of down home. For other toe-tap- IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES the bipartisan IRS restructuring and reform ping diners, it was a plateful of black cul- legislation I am sponsoring, including $377 ture, a taste of church suppers, backyard Thursday, October 2, 1997 million of critical funding to address the Year cookouts and old-fashioned, black hospi- Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I would like to 2000 problem in IRS computer systems. It tality. call to your attention the loving memory of also includes $326 million in needed informa- The only thing missing was the queen of soul food herself, the owner, Sylvia Woods. Bessie Gilmore, from Paterson, NJ. tion technology investments for the IRS. Mrs. Woods doesn’t work on Sundays any- Bessie was born on September 12, 1920 in Furthermore, this conference report includes more. After 35 years of 15- and 16-hour days Camden, SC. She was the daughter of the $1.6 billion for activities related to drug abuse. to establish her restaurant, on Lenox Avenue late Charles June, Sr. and Margaret Bracey It includes critical funding for the Drug Free near 127th Street, as a temple of black June Jackson. Communities Act, which I authored this year to Southern dining up north, Mrs. Woods, 71, Bessie moved to Paterson, NJ at a very encourage effective community-based drug and her husband, 72 Herbert, are taking it a young age and was baptized at St. Augustine prevention programs. little easier. And, given the recent reports about ques- They may need the energy: from modest Presbyterian Church in Paterson. A graduate beginnings in rural South Carolina, they are of Paterson Public School No. 6, she attend tionable usage of the White House for political on the cusp of national success. Eastside High School and graduated from fundraising, it has important provisions to in- Mrs. Woods’s mother mortgaged the family Brown Home Mather Academy in Camden, crease accountability for the financing of politi- farm so that her daughter, than a waitress, SC. cal events at the White House to ensure that and son-in-law, then a cabdriver, could open As a community leader, Bessie spoke for taxpayers are not subsidizing fundraisers. the restaurant in 1962. But now, investors led After weighing the overall effect of this legis- by the J.P. Morgan Community Development the disenfranchised citizens of Paterson. She Corporation are helping to take the Woodses’ spearheaded numerous civic action commit- lation, I felt it would be improper to oppose the entire legislation package over the issue of the vision of a cozy place to break cornbread and tees, served as chief organizer for the Federa- transplant it across the country. tion of Neighborhood Councils, which is a divi- COLA. That issue has already been debated Mrs. Woods, a round-faced women with sion of the Paterson Task Force for Commu- before this bodyÐwhere I expressed my op- outsize eyeglasses and a generous smile, nity Action, and coorganized the Welfare position. finds that prospect pleasing. Rights Organization. f ‘‘We’ve come such a long ways, but in a sense it feels like it was just yesterday,’’ Bessie served as a commissioner on the HARLEM’S HISTORIC SYLVIA’S Mrs. Woods said, with her husband at her Paterson Board of Adjustment and a member RESTAURANT IS GOING ON THE side. ‘‘I put my life in this restaurant.’’ of the Board of Directors of the Bergen/Pas- ROAD Her regulars enjoy the couple’s success. saic County Health Systems Agency, the ‘‘I have watched their development,’’ said WPAT Coalition Committee, and Title One HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL Percy Sutton, a leading Harlem businessman Committee. A Fourth Ward Democratic co- and former Manhattan Borough President. ‘I OF NEW YORK know of no two more deserving and gracious leader and County Committeewoman, she was IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES people than the two of them. I am deliriously a member of the NAACP and the Citizens happy for them.’’ Committee for the Passaic County Vocational Wednesday, October 1, 1997 The expansion began in February, when High School. Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, not long ago, I the first Sylvia’s branch opened in downtown Bessie's many honors included the War was honored to present to Herbert and Sylvia Atlanta. Others are planned for Brooklyn, Against Poverty Award, presented to her by Woods an award as New York State's Parents St. Louis and Baltimore. the Paterson Task Force for Community Ac- of the Year. The owners of Harlem's world-re- Another arm of this food empire is being masterminded by their eldest son, Van tion, the Major's Award for Civic Contributions, nowned Sylvia's Restaurant had earned the DeWard Woods, 52: a Sylvia’s line of bottled and the Paterson Chapter of the Black Wom- accolade as a married couple who had raised spices, sauces, dressings and canned seasoned en's Health Project Award. four children and had been blessed by many beans, greens and peas—with Mrs. Woods’s Bessie is survived by her husband Louis grandchildren. smiling face on the front. The products are Gilmore, her daughter Deborah Jamison Jeter, I said then that the Woods' had dem- appearing on the shelves of specialty shops and two brothers, Charles June, Jr., and onstrated what life is truly about: nurturing, and supermarkets chains in New York and James Jackson, Jr. educating, and inculcating in their children the nationally, including D’Agostino, Pathmark values that had allowed them to carry on suc- and A.&P./Food Emporium. Mr Speaker, I ask that you join me, our col- The Woodses are at the leading edge of a leagues, Bessie's family and friends, and the cessfully in their own lives. But in addition, the new interest in soul food. This fall, 20th Cen- city of Paterson in paying tribute to the loving Woods', who came from the humblest of back- tury Fox is set to release the feature film memory of Bessie Gilmore. grounds in South Carolina, have made a huge ‘‘Soul Food,’’ a sentimental homage. The f mark in the world of business, building a small cuisine, born on slave plantations and rely- family-owned restaurant in Harlem into a na- ing heavily on cast-off cuts of meat, fried CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 2378, tional operation in the culinary industryÐres- foods, gravies and spices, is being reimag- TREASURY, POSTAL SERVICE, taurants in several cities and a line of bottled ined, often for diet-conscious customers, at AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT AP- spices. popular restaurants like George’s in Los An- PROPRIATIONS ACT, 1998 Recently reporter Michel Marriott chronicled geles and the Soul Cafe and Motown Cafe in midtown Manhattan. their story in an article in the New York Times. In recent years, Mrs. Woods has given a SPEECH OF That inspirational story of hard work, persever- nod to the calorie-conscious by offering a few HON. ROB PORTMAN ance, and determination follows for the edifi- items on her menu that are baked and grilled, not fried. She also seasons her col- OF OHIO cation of my colleagues. lard greens with smoked turkey, rather than [From the New York Times, Sept. 3, 1997] IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES the traditional ham hocks, after some cus- QUEEN OF SOUL FOOD TAKING ‘‘DOWN HOME’’ Tuesday, September 30, 1997 tomers asked if they could get their greens ON THE ROAD sans pig. Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to (By Michel Marriott) Even with these accommodations, it’s still express my support for the overall fiscal year The scene on the broad, cracked sidewalk the same restaurant that has become world 1998 Treasury, Postal Service Appropriations outside Sylvia’s Restaurant in Harlem renowned. October 2, 1997 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — 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 office—‘‘Syl- called. ‘‘I said: ‘Johnson, are you crazy? You onÐto benefit our citizens. It is no exaggera- via’s Room’’ is burned into the door—she 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 hours—nonstop— 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. Woods’s success surprises Earth's ``second moon'' had wide-ranging re- Forty years ago, human space flight was Vicky Johnson, the Belgian war bride of An- percussions. It was an enormous blow to the just a goalÐand a goal framed in terms of the drew Johnson the black entrepreneur who gave Mrs. Woods her first job in Harlem, as American national psyche, and it led to an ag- superpower rivalry. Today, on the other hand, a waitress in his Harlem luncheonette. onizing reappraisal of our educational system, we are attempting nothing less than the ‘‘She was a hard worker,’’ Mrs. Johnson, a questioning of our assumed technological peaceful merger of the human space flight 69, recalled by telephone from her home in superiority in the world, and alarm over the programs of Russia and the United States, as