[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 16] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page 22633] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]MIN MATHESON HONORED ______ HON. PAUL E. KANJORSKI of pennsylvania in the house of representatives Friday, September 24, 1999 Mr. KANJORSKI. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise today to bring the remarkable life of Mrs. Min Matheson to the attention of my colleagues. On September 24, the people of the Wyoming Valley will pay a long overdue tribute to Min, as a historical marker is dedicated to her on the Public Square in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. I am pleased and proud to join in this historic tribute. One of eight children, Min Lurye was born in Chicago in 1909. Her father, a Jewish immigrant, was a cigar maker and a militant labor leader. Min grew up in a household of radical labor meetings, with her father organizing rallies and strikes within the cigar industry. Max Lurye fought organized crime and big business at the same time, once even having a confrontation with Al Capone. Min's childhood occurred in an atmosphere of violence and fear in the labor movements as her father saw some of close friends killed for resisting mob control of the industry. Max's legacy was continued by both his daughter Min and son Will, who also dedicated his life to labor causes. When she was nineteen, Min met and fell in love with Bill Matheson. Defying the convention of the time, they set up a household together without marrying. At Bill's urging, Min traveled to New Jersey to help striking textile workers, but the strike was crushed after six months and Min was uncertain of her next move. They soon moved to New York City and began careers in the garment industry. Min worked in a dress factory until Bill accepted a position in Pennsylvania with the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union (ILGWU). When they decided to have children, they married and Min stayed out of union affairs for a time to raise her two small children. In 1944, the New York ILGWU asked Bill and Min to move to Northeastern Pennsylvania, where dozens of small garment factories were sprouting up. Union officials asked Min and Bill ``to clean up the mess down there,'' and within a few years, Min was General Manager of the Wyoming Valley ILGWU and Bill was the Director of Education. During strikes, she walked the picket lines with the rank and file and stood her ground when confronted by factory bosses. Eventually, Min realized the press was a union's best friend and regularly used radio shows to bring the union's case to the attention of the public. She organized union blood drives and the union locals gave freely to the United Fund. The community began to accept and appreciate the good works of the ILGWU. At one point, Min realized the union needed to become more active in the political arena and began the strong relationship between labor and the Democratic Party in Northeastern Pennsylvania which still exists to this day. Mr. Speaker, Min and Bill Matheson were the parents of the garment industry workforce in Northeastern Pennsylvania. They organized it, fought for it, and gave it standing in the community. Seven hundred people turned out at a farewell salute after Min and Bill accepted a transfer to New York in 1963. Min and Bill chose to come back to the Wyoming Valley upon retirement. They moved back in 1972, a few months before the Susquehanna river overflowed her banks, flooding the entire area and devastating the lives of tens of thousands of area residents. An organizer by birthright, Min immediately helped to organize the Flood Victims Action Council to speak for those devastated by the disaster. She brought her concerns and plight of the flood victims to the immediate attention of the federal government and worked closely with then-Congressman Dan Flood to insure relief for the thousands of displace residents. I am proud to have worked closely with Min on that effort, acting as legal counsel to the Flood Victims Action Council. Even in retirement, Min Matheson had found a way to better the lives of her neighbors in the Wyoming Valley. She continued to contribute her time and energy to our community until her death several years ago. Then-Wilkes-Barre City Councilman Joe Williams said it best: ``There should be a statute of Min on Public Square for all that she has done for this Valley.'' Mr. Speaker, I am pleased and proud to join with my good friends at the ILGWU, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the entire community in paying a much over-due tribute to this beloved figure in our region's history, Mrs. Min Matheson. ____________________