Sam Farr: “I rise tonight in these hallowed halls of Congress to pay tribute to a colleague in public service, Monterey City…”

“I rise tonight in these hallowed halls of Congress to pay tribute to a colleague in public service, Monterey City Councilwoman Ruth Vreeland, killed in an automobile accident on Highway 101 in southern Monterey County just this last Sunday. What a loss. This 68-year-old woman had the energy of 100 locomotives. Involved in everything, teacher, statewide education activist, 20-year city councilwoman, statewide League of Cities activist, Democratic Party activist, mother, member of various boards. She was always there, always prepared, and always wanting to do more. Born in Chunking, China, she grew up in Szechwan Province where her parents worked as medical missionaries. Returning to Toronto, Canada, in 1940, and moving to San Francisco where her parents taught at the University of California, Berkeley, Ruth earned a bachelor's degree in arts and education from San Francisco State University. She also met her husband there, Dick Vreeland, and then continued on to the University of San Francisco to earn a master's degree in organizational development. In 1956, she moved to Monterey Peninsula to teach school, and was elected to the Monterey City Council with the intention of protecting the quality of life in the city of Monterey. "This town is more than buildings and streets; first it is people," she wrote in her campaign statement. She championed the tearing down of the waterfront buildings so that people could see the Bay where California began.”