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| 3 | 4 | | |
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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, In observance of the 80th anniversary of the New |
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| 6 | 7 | | London school explosion, the London Ex-Student and Memorial |
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| 7 | 8 | | Association, the West Rusk Alumni Association, and the New London |
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| 8 | 9 | | Museum are hosting a Day of Remembrance and All-School Reunion on |
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| 9 | 10 | | March 18, 2017; and |
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| 10 | 11 | | WHEREAS, In 1937, New London, Texas, boasted one of the most |
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| 11 | 12 | | prosperous rural school districts in the nation, thanks to the |
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| 12 | 13 | | area's booming oil fields, and community residents took pride in |
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| 13 | 14 | | their new state-of-the-art school building; and |
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| 14 | 15 | | WHEREAS, Shortly after three o'clock on the afternoon of |
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| 15 | 16 | | March 18, children were preparing for an upcoming interscholastic |
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| 16 | 17 | | meet in a nearby town when a shop instructor switched on a sanding |
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| 17 | 18 | | machine; unbeknownst to anyone, a natural gas leak had filled the |
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| 18 | 19 | | school's basement with an incendiary mix of gas and air, and the |
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| 19 | 20 | | machine's spark ignited an explosion that destroyed the school in |
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| 20 | 21 | | an instant, collapsing the walls and bringing the roof down upon the |
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| 21 | 22 | | children and teachers below; the explosion was heard four miles |
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| 22 | 23 | | away, and a two-ton slab of concrete was hurled 200 feet, crushing a |
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| 23 | 24 | | car; and |
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| 24 | 25 | | WHEREAS, Hundreds of frantic parents and community members |
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| 25 | 26 | | rushed to the scene, and some 1,500 roughnecks from the nearby |
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| 26 | 27 | | oilfields dropped their work to join in the rescue and recovery |
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| 27 | 28 | | effort; within an hour, Governor James Allred had sent the Texas |
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| 28 | 29 | | Rangers and the highway patrol to lend assistance; and |
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| 29 | 30 | | WHEREAS, Of the 500 students and 40 teachers in the building |
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| 30 | 31 | | at the time, nearly 300 died; the new Mother Francis Hospital in |
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| 31 | 32 | | Tyler canceled its dedication ceremony to treat the injured, and |
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| 32 | 33 | | the Texas Funeral Directors Association sent 25 embalmers to the |
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| 33 | 34 | | scene; the disaster became international news, drawing journalists |
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| 34 | 35 | | from around the nation, including a young Walter Cronkite; and |
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| 35 | 36 | | WHEREAS, In the aftermath of the explosion, the Texas |
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| 36 | 37 | | Legislature passed a law requiring that a distinctive scent be |
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| 37 | 38 | | added to natural gas so that future tragedies of that nature might |
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| 38 | 39 | | be avoided; today, the worst school disaster in U.S. history is |
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| 39 | 40 | | recorded in the exhibits of the New London Museum and remembered |
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| 40 | 41 | | with a cenotaph displaying the names of all those who lost their |
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| 41 | 42 | | lives; and |
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| 42 | 43 | | WHEREAS, The memory of this horrific tragedy reminds us of |
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| 43 | 44 | | the fragility of life, but it also serves as a testament to the |
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| 44 | 45 | | power of community, and even as we pay tribute to the lives that |
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| 45 | 46 | | were lost, we also honor the heroic efforts of all those who rushed |
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| 46 | 47 | | to their aid; now, therefore, be it |
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| 47 | 48 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
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| 48 | 49 | | Legislature hereby commemorate the 80th anniversary of the New |
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| 49 | 50 | | London school explosion and extend to all those associated with the |
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| 50 | 51 | | Day of Remembrance sincere best wishes for a meaningful and |
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| 51 | 52 | | memorable event; and, be it further |
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| 52 | 53 | | RESOLVED, That official copies of this resolution be prepared |
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| 53 | 54 | | for the London Ex-Student and Memorial Association, the West Rusk |
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| 54 | 55 | | Alumni Association, and the New London Museum as an expression of |
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| 55 | 56 | | high regard by the Texas House of Representatives. |
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