| 1 | 1 | | By: Button (Senate Sponsor - Carona) H.C.R. No. 96 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (In the Senate - Received from the House May 3, 2013; |
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| 3 | 3 | | May 6, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on |
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| 4 | 4 | | Administration; May 15, 2013, reported favorably by the following |
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| 5 | 5 | | vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 15, 2013, sent to printer.) |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | |
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| 8 | 8 | | HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
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| 9 | 9 | | WHEREAS, The cowboy hat has long been associated with |
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| 10 | 10 | | residents of the Lone Star State, and for many years, the city of |
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| 11 | 11 | | Garland has been home to the leading manufacturers of this |
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| 12 | 12 | | emblematic Texan headgear; and |
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| 13 | 13 | | WHEREAS, John B. Stetson first invented the hat that came to |
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| 14 | 14 | | be known as the "Boss of the Plains" in 1865, and in 1927, a Michigan |
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| 15 | 15 | | investor named E. R. Byer and a hatmaker named Harry Rolnick |
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| 16 | 16 | | founded the Byer-Rolnick company in Dallas to manufacture the brand |
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| 17 | 17 | | of cowboy hat called Resistol, for its ability to resist all |
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| 18 | 18 | | weathers; and |
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| 19 | 19 | | WHEREAS, Thanks to a growing demand, Byer-Rolnick opened a |
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| 20 | 20 | | larger factory in Garland in 1938, where Resistol hats have been |
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| 21 | 21 | | made ever since; Stetsons are now made in Garland as well, along |
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| 22 | 22 | | with the western fashion hats made by the Charlie 1 Horse Hat |
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| 23 | 23 | | Company; all three companies are part of Hatco, which is |
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| 24 | 24 | | headquartered in Garland and employs nearly 400 people; and |
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| 25 | 25 | | WHEREAS, The concentration of hat-making talent in Garland |
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| 26 | 26 | | has led to the formation of several other companies; Master Hatters |
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| 27 | 27 | | of Texas was founded in 1968 by a former Byer-Rolnick employee, |
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| 28 | 28 | | William Cook, and the Milano Hat Company, founded by John Milano in |
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| 29 | 29 | | 1983, opened a new facility in 2006; Dallas Hats has been making |
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| 30 | 30 | | palm leaf and raffia cowboy hats in the city since 1989; and |
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| 31 | 31 | | WHEREAS, Garland is also home to the Dallas County |
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| 32 | 32 | | Manufacturing Association and the Garland Chamber of Commerce, and |
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| 33 | 33 | | their essential contributions to the community's |
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| 34 | 34 | | manufacturing-minded environment make the city an ideal location |
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| 35 | 35 | | for businesses of all sorts; and |
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| 36 | 36 | | WHEREAS, The production of cowboy hats contributes not only |
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| 37 | 37 | | to the Texas economy, but to the rich cultural history of our state, |
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| 38 | 38 | | and the city of Garland may indeed take great pride in its central |
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| 39 | 39 | | role in the design and manufacture of this iconic Texas product; |
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| 40 | 40 | | now, therefore, be it |
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| 41 | 41 | | RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas |
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| 42 | 42 | | hereby designate Garland as the Cowboy Hat Capital of Texas. |
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| 43 | 43 | | * * * * * |
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