| 1 | 1 | | 89R11601 KRT-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: McLaughlin H.C.R. No. 55 |
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| 7 | 7 | | CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
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| 8 | 8 | | WHEREAS, For more than a century, the South Texas community |
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| 9 | 9 | | of Poteet has been known across the Lone Star State as a source of |
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| 10 | 10 | | delicious strawberries and as the host of a renowned annual |
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| 11 | 11 | | strawberry festival; and |
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| 12 | 12 | | WHEREAS, In 1911, city founders Henry and Ida Mumme began to |
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| 13 | 13 | | grow strawberries in their kitchen garden, and within 10 years, the |
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| 14 | 14 | | community's strawberry crop had become one of its most successful |
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| 15 | 15 | | products; local citizens invited residents of nearby San Antonio to |
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| 16 | 16 | | sample the town's strawberries in 1921, and the San Antonio |
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| 17 | 17 | | Express-News ran a story headlined "Crimson Berries Beckon Hungry |
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| 18 | 18 | | Tourists to Poteet"; and |
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| 19 | 19 | | WHEREAS, Building on the city's reputation, the Poteet Rotary |
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| 20 | 20 | | Club staged the first Poteet Strawberry Festival in April 1948, |
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| 21 | 21 | | hoping to provide an incentive for veterans of World War II to |
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| 22 | 22 | | return to area farms; the club also promoted more careful packing of |
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| 23 | 23 | | the crop so that each buyer would receive a uniform pint, flat, or |
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| 24 | 24 | | crate of berries; and |
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| 25 | 25 | | WHEREAS, Over the course of the past 77 years, the festival |
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| 26 | 26 | | has grown to become one of the signature springtime events in South |
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| 27 | 27 | | Texas, drawing 100,000 visitors and contributing as much as $12 |
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| 28 | 28 | | million to the local economy each year; in addition to the |
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| 29 | 29 | | strawberries themselves, including those sold at the |
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| 30 | 30 | | much-anticipated strawberry auction, the popular gathering |
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| 31 | 31 | | features live music, a parade, and a food show; and |
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| 32 | 32 | | WHEREAS, The event also serves as a means of supporting area |
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| 33 | 33 | | students; for more than two decades, the Poteet Strawberry Festival |
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| 34 | 34 | | Association has presented college scholarships to a host of |
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| 35 | 35 | | deserving recipients each year, and many of the churches, schools, |
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| 36 | 36 | | and civic organizations that participate in the festival donate |
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| 37 | 37 | | scholarships as well; and |
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| 38 | 38 | | WHEREAS, This sweet, juicy, and colorful fruit is a delight |
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| 39 | 39 | | to behold and to taste, and for many years, the citizens of Poteet |
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| 40 | 40 | | have made the strawberry both a source of prosperity and a cause for |
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| 41 | 41 | | celebration; now, therefore, be it |
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| 42 | 42 | | RESOLVED, That the 89th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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| 43 | 43 | | hereby redesignate Poteet as the official Strawberry Capital of |
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| 44 | 44 | | Texas; and, be it further |
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| 45 | 45 | | RESOLVED, That, in accordance with the provisions of Section |
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| 46 | 46 | | 391.003(e), Government Code, this designation remain in effect |
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| 47 | 47 | | until the 10th anniversary of the date this resolution is finally |
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| 48 | 48 | | passed by the legislature. |
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