H.R. No. 2854
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The 23rd annual Texas Scottish Festival & Highland
Games are being held at Maverick Stadium on the campus of The
University of Texas at Arlington, June 5 through 7, 2009; and
WHEREAS, One of the largest Scottish gatherings in the
country, this outstanding family event offers the public a chance
to enjoy traditional Scottish music, dancing, food, and athletic
competitions, as well as many other Scottish-themed activities; and
WHEREAS, Scots and people of Scottish descent have long made
notable contributions to the exploration and development of this
state; in the early 1830s, naturalist Thomas Drummond, a native
Scot, collected an extensive number of plant and animal specimens
between the coast and the Edwards Plateau; his collections were
later distributed internationally to a number of museums and other
institutions; and
WHEREAS, Among the first northern Europeans to settle in
Texas, Scots and their descendants composed more than 40 percent of
Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred and predominated among the
more than 600 families in Robertson's Colony; other prominent
Texans of Scottish ancestry included such heroes of the Texas
Revolution as Sam Houston, David Crockett, and the empresario
Sterling Clack Robertson, who signed both the Texas Declaration of
Independence and the constitution of the Republic of Texas;
moreover, four Scottish-born soldiers fought with the Texans at the
Alamo, and one of them, John MacGregor, is reported to have rallied
his comrades with his bagpipes during the siege; and
WHEREAS, After Texas became a republic and then a state,
Scots and their descendants continued to make their mark; some who
achieved prominence were George Cupples, a physician, Jesse
Chisholm, a frontier trader, interpreter, and trailblazer, and
Edmund Duncan Montgomery, a scientist and philosopher; in addition,
Scottish capitalists financed the establishment of vast cattle
spreads and also the building of the present State Capitol, which
was constructed with the help of Scottish stonemasons; and
WHEREAS, Today, organizations around the state promote
fellowship among Scottish Texans, as well as such popular
traditions as Scottish dance and highland games; the state even has
its own official plaid, the Texas Bluebonnet Tartan; and
WHEREAS, Scots and their descendants have made an indelible
imprint on the Lone Star State, and the Texas Scottish Festival &
Highland Games provide a fitting opportunity to salute their myriad
contributions; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas
Legislature hereby recognize June 2009 as Scottish Heritage Month
and commemorate the 23rd annual Texas Scottish Festival & Highland
Games in Arlington.
Branch
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 2854 was adopted by the House on June
1, 2009, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House