Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to the great city of Perry, Utah, on the 100^th anniversary of its incorporation.

            Today, Perry is a beautiful city of nearly 4,000 residents nestled at the foot of northern Utah’s majestic Wasatch Mountains. Its fame and acclaim are extensive for a variety of reasons.

            First, it is the apple of many a person’s eye because of its location on Utah’s famed Fruit Way. Its fruit stands along Highway 89 are laden with apples, cherries, apricots, peaches, pears and other produce. I have never found any fruit nearly so sweet in all my travels.  

            Perry is also home to the legendary Maddox Ranch House, where succulent steaks, fried chicken, homemade rolls and other fare have been food for thought and the palate for locals and many a weary traveler – this senator, included – for more than six decades.  

           Best of all, though, are the wonderful residents of Perry. I have always been unfailingly impressed with their work ethic and civic-mindedness – their eagerness and willingness to pitch in and build a better future and community for their children and grandchildren.  

           They also are warm and welcoming. Whenever people pop in, they never seem to be put out. It has been my experience that they are always eager to lend a hand or extend the hand of friendship. I always feel better for being there. It doesn’t hurt that my wife, Elaine, hails from nearby Newton. Little wonder that every time I am in Perry I feel right at home.

           Great places like Perry don’t just happen. It takes vision and hard work – a trait Orrin Porter Rockwell and his brother Merritt undoubtedly had in abundance when they laid claim to a piece of land in the area adjacent Porter Spring. They were followed in 1851 by the Mormon pioneers, settlers of faith and fortitude who befriended the Native Americans there and founded what became known as Three Mile Creek.  

          Many milestones have come and gone since then. In 1861 the first school was built, followed by the groundbreaking for the Northern Utah Railroad ten years later. And the settlers also weathered some adversity, including harsh winters and the Great Flood of 1896. Two years later, Three Mile Creek was renamed Perry in honor of Orrin Alonzo Perry, who served as an LDS bishop there for more than two decades.   

         June 19, 1911, the date of Perry’s incorporation, was another major event and marked a new beginning. Over the ensuing years, the people of Perry, under the guidance of some remarkable and visionary leaders, kept right on building, bringing electricity, drinking water, a town hall and more schools to the city. Just this year, Perry added a wastewater treatment plant and a soccer park to the mix. And I trust many more chapters remain to be written in Perry’s illustrious history.

        As Perry celebrates its Centennial over the Fourth of July weekend, I salute its visionary and hardworking citizens, both past and present, who have made the city what it is today. I’m sure Orrin Porter Rockwell and Orrin Alonzo Perry would be proud. You can be certain that this Orrin is.

        Mr President, I yield the floor.

###