HLS 18RS-4013 ORIGINAL
2018 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 215
BY REPRESENTATIVE COX
COMMENDATIONS: Commends Hilton Lytle on his 2018 induction into the Louisiana
Folklife Center Hall of Master Folk Artists
1 A RESOLUTION
2To commend Hilton Lytle upon his 2018 induction into the Louisiana Folklife Center Hall
3 of Master Folk Artists.
4 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Folklife Center is an agency of Northwestern State
5University of Louisiana and was established in 1976; and
6 WHEREAS, the mission of the Louisiana Folklife Center is to identify, document,
7and present Louisiana's rich history of folklore and folklife, and the center serves as an
8archival repository for many folklife materials; and
9 WHEREAS, the Hall of Master Folk Artists, which was started in 1981, currently has
10more than one hundred distinguished inducted honorees in celebration of Louisiana's vibrant
11and diverse folk culture; and
12 WHEREAS, a respected instrument builder, Hilton "Hil" Lytle grew up in Jena,
13Louisiana; he learned the names of all the trees in his area, and that knowledge led to
14crafting toys from the various woods, which would serve him later in life; and
15 WHEREAS, Hil Lytle answered the call of duty from his country and was deployed
16overseas for military service in World War II; upon his return, he majored in industrial
17education at Texas A&M University, where he completed a master's degree; after more than
18twenty years as a counselor at the vocational technical school in Monroe, Hil retired and
19returned to his roots of crafting from wood; and
20 WHEREAS, in 1970, Hil Lytle built his first violin with the help of Foxfire books;
21he improved his skills under the tutelage of Doc Savage of Monroe and became a specialist
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HR NO. 215
1in producing violins with exceptionally beautiful tones by using a "tap-toning" technique he
2developed; Hil has built more than nine hundred musical instruments, including guitars,
3Dobros, which are resonator guitars, mandolins, banjos, violas, cellos, and violins; and
4 WHEREAS, Hil Lytle is a featured artist at the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View,
5Arkansas, where he has demonstrated his skills as a master craftsman and has taught
6apprentice builders; Hil helped establish the Music Roots Program, to which he has donated
7more than four hundred instruments; at the Ozark Folk Center, Hil Lytle performed his
8composition, Geriatric Blues, which he plays on a harmonica and wash tub bass; and
9 WHEREAS, of the seven hundred sixty-four violins Hil has built, most have been
10given to young musicians who could not otherwise have afforded to purchase them; Hil is
11proud to remember where every violin he built was sent and is even more passionate about
12passing on his knowledge to the next generation of luthiers, many of whom he already has
13helped to build their own fiddles; Hilton Lytle merits a special measure of commendation
14upon his 2018 induction into the Louisiana Folklife Center Hall of Master Folk Artists.
15 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
16Legislature of Louisiana does hereby commend Hilton "Hil" Lytle upon his 2018 induction
17into the Louisiana Folklife Center Hall of Master Folk Artists; does hereby congratulate him
18for his artistic excellence and generous, giving spirit; and does hereby extend to him every
19good wish for continued success, prosperity, and happiness in the future.
20 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
21to Hilton Lytle.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 215 Original 2018 Regular Session Cox
Commends Hilton Lytle on his 2018 induction into the La. Folklife Center Hall of Master
Folk Artists.
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