10062 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS, Vol. 157, Pt. 7 June 24, 2011 Beyond the code, the justices must comply HONORING RALPH LOMMA writing career early in life, penning movie re- with laws applying to all federal officials views at the age of 12 for the Thomasville that prohibit conflicts of interest and re- HON. TOM MARINO Times. A graduate of Huntington College, she quire disclosure of gifts. Justice Thomas’s took her first full-time reporting job in 1940, gift acceptances drew attention in 2004, when OF PENNSYLVANIA The Los Angeles Times reported that he had IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES covering the police beat for the Alabama Jour- accumulated gifts totaling $42,200 in the pre- Friday, June 24, 2011 nal in Montgomery—the first female reporter to earn that assignment for the paper. She soon vious six years—far more than any of the Mr. MARINO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in other justices. gained a reputation in the Capital City as a honor of one of my constituents, Mr. Ralph Since 2004, Justice Thomas has never re- solid reporter. By 1944, she was hired at the Lomma, in recognition of his successful vision state’s largest newspaper—The Birmingham ported another gift. He has continued to dis- for a prospering community in Susquehanna close travel costs paid by schools and organi- News—where she met her husband to be, County, Pennsylvania. zations he has visited for speeches and teach- Amasa Benjamin Windham. This year represents the 50th anniversary of ing, but he has not reported that any travel After the death of her husband in 1956, was provided by Mr. Crow. the establishment of The Village of the Four Seasons. Mr. Lomma, who founded the Vil- Kathryn Tucker Windham began writing col- Travel records for Mr. Crow’s planes and lage near the base of Elk Mountain has umns for the Selma Times Journal where she yacht, however, suggest that Justice Thomas also gained attention as a skilled photog- may have used them in recent years. worked tirelessly over the past five decades to create a place where an entire community rapher. It wasn’t until 1969, when she wrote In April 2008, not long after Mr. Crow could enjoy the beauty of every season, in an 13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey, that she bought the Pin Point property, one of his environment that is both beautiful and secure. began her more famous career as a prolific private planes flew from Washington to Sa- author and storyteller. vannah, where his yacht, the Michaela Rose, What began as a loosely connected area of was docked. vacation rentals, has transformed into a cohe- From 1967 to 2009, she authored over 30 sive community, committed to the same prin- books on subjects ranging from southern That same week, an item appeared in a ciples on which Mr. Lomma founded the Vil- South Carolina lawyers’ publication noting cooking to legends of the supernatural. Her that Justice Thomas was arriving aboard the lage. well-known ‘‘Jeffrey’’ series of true ghost sto- Michaela Rose in Charleston, a couple of Since its inception, the community has been ries went on to include tales from Georgia, hours north of Savannah, where the Crow an active and thriving addition to the sur- Mississippi, Tennessee and other Southern family owns luxury vacation properties. The rounding area. Every season, the Village of- states. My personal favorite is her charming fers something wonderful to both its residents author was a prominent lawyer who said she 1975 book, Alabama: One Big Front Porch. knew of the visit because of a family connec- and its neighbors; from tennis tournaments in tion to Mr. Crow. the summer, to New Year’s Eve parties each While her writing helped establish her bona Justice Thomas reported no gifts of travel winter. Ralph’s vision of a ‘‘playground for fides as a storyteller, she did not stop with that month in his 2008 disclosure. And there families’’ has truly been realized. print. She established the Alabama Tale Tellin’ are other instances in which Justice Thom- In the coming days, the Village will gather Festival in Selma and was a sought-after as’s travels correspond to flights taken by yet again to honor its architect, Mr. Lomma. I speaker at storytelling festivals and gatherings Mr. Crow’s planes. am honored to represent such a determined across the country. On Jan. 4, 2010, when Justice Thomas was and passionate individual, who works every Her Southern charm also captured the at- in Savannah for the dedication of a building day to better our 10th District of Pennsylvania. tention of National Public Radio’s All Things in his honor, Mr. Crow’s plane flew from Over the past fifty years, the Village has seen Considered, which featured her as a regular Washington to Savannah and returned to many Presidents as well as members of their Southern storyteller. She also took to the Washington the next day. Justice Thomas Board of Directors, but through the guiding reported in his financial disclosure that his stage as the star of a one-woman play she presence of Mr. Lomma, the Village has authored, They Call Me Julia, based on the travel had been paid for by the Savannah grown into a wonderful place for families and College of Art and Design, which owned the life of another famous Alabamian, Julia S. building. visitors. Tutwiler. It is an honor today to recognize Mr. Ralph In his 2009 financial disclosure, Justice Lomma. Please join me in acknowledging his In 2003, Kathryn Tucker Windham was in- Thomas reported that Southern Methodist determination, selflessness, and commitment ducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor at University in Dallas—Trammell Crow’s alma to the ideals of community and camaraderie the recommendation of her friend, fellow Ala- mater—had provided his travel for a speech bama author, Nelle Harper Lee. Today, Ala- there on Sept. 30. Flight records show that that have led him and The Village of the Four Seasons to such success. bama Southern Community College in Thom- Mr. Crow’s plane flew from Washington to asville houses the Kathryn Tucker Windham Dallas that day. f Museum. Among the questions The Times submitted REMEMBERING ALABAMA’S BE- to Justice Thomas was whether he was on Mr. Speaker, we mourn the loss of Kathryn LOVED STORYTELLER, KATHRYN Tucker Windham, and we will always be grate- any of those flights, and if so, whether the TUCKER WINDHAM colleges reimbursed him or Mr. Crow. The ful for her devotion to telling the most beautiful colleges declined to comment. and entertaining stories about Alabama and One item not required to be reported in HON. JO BONNER the South. There was only one Kathryn Tucker OF ALABAMA Justice Thomas’s financial disclosures is the Windham and we will surely miss her greatly. millions of dollars Mr. Crow is spending on IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES The thoughts and prayers of our entire state the museum. That is because the money is Friday, June 24, 2011 are with her family at this difficult time. not being given to the justice as a gift. Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, I am saddened For Algernon and Sharon Varn, who said to inform the House that Alabama has lost one f they were thrilled to see a cherished piece of of its great writers and favorite citizens. Just a PERSONAL EXPLANATION local history being restored, the museum is a few days ago, our beloved Southern storyteller gift to the community. While it is about and gifted author, Kathryn Tucker Windham, more than Justice Thomas, they said, he de- serves credit for putting them together with passed away after a year-long illness at the HON. TOM COLE someone who had the money and the interest age of 93. to make the project a reality. Life is a patchwork of trials, triumphs, joys, OF OKLAHOMA and sorrows, sown together through genera- ‘‘He was instrumental in getting the proc- IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ess started, because he wanted it preserved tions of experience. When it comes to color- to show that no matter where you came fully interpreting the past, no one could artfully Friday, June 24, 2011 from, you can go where you want,’’ Mr. Varn stitch the stories of our state and the Deep said. ‘‘He had a meager existence, and yet South like Kathryn Tucker Windham. Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably look where he is today. It’s a great American Born in Selma in 1918 and raised in Thom- detained and missed rollcall vote No. 478. story.’’ asville, Kathryn Tucker Windham began her Had I been present, I would have voted ‘‘aye.’’ VerDate Mar 15 2010 13:16 Jun 17, 2014 Jkt 099102 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 0689 Sfmt 9920 E:\BR11\E24JN1.000 E24JN1 pmangrum on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BOUND RECORD.