Political Quotes

“I wish to rise and say just a few words to honor the remarkable life and note the passing of a constituent of mine and an accomplished small business man from central Illinois, a businessman named Mel Feldman. I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Feldman in 2010, when he shared with me the story of his life and times. I'd like to share some of that with you, for it encapsulates much of what we all love about our country and what I love about central Illinois. Mel was born in Poland in 1913, which he and his family fled soon thereafter to escape the pogroms that arose during the First World War. The family eventually settled in St. Louis, where Mel studied engineering. He began a career in the radio business, hustling a job as a remote engineer with KMOX during the 1930s, where he courted his wife, Ruth, while doing remote broadcasts of big band concerts on Saturday nights. Later, he was an engineer and sidekick of a young broadcaster named Harry Carey, of who we're very familiar with. Mel fought in World War II, and upon returning home, he and a friend bought a radio station in Springfield, Illinois. Operating on a shoestring budget, they worked day and night for years to get established, eventually buying two other radio stations in Peoria and coming to employ nearly 100 workers. He and his wife, Ruth, became pillars of the community at the synagogue there in the central Illinois area, where she helped run the preschool.…”