H.R. No. 890
R E S O L U T I O N
1-1 WHEREAS, On May 15, 1993, at its Triennial Dinner held in
1-2 Pacific Grove, California, the Society of Woman Geographers had the
1-3 distinct pleasure of presenting to Ms. Ruth Agnes McCall Robertson
1-4 of Rosenberg, Texas, its Outstanding Achievement Award for her
1-5 distinguished career as a journalist, photographer, war
1-6 correspondent, and explorer--a career that spanned well over a half
1-7 century; and
1-8 WHEREAS, Starting out in 1939 in her native state, Illinois,
1-9 Ms. Robertson was the first woman photographer at The Peoria
1-10 Evening Star; and
1-11 WHEREAS, By 1943, Ms. Robertson had advanced to ranking
1-12 news photographer on the staff of United Press International in
1-13 Chicago, winning such plum assignments as covering the 1944
1-14 Republican and Democratic National Conventions, being the first
1-15 woman news photographer allowed on the infield at Chicago's Wrigley
1-16 Field, being the first woman to photograph football games from the
1-17 50-yard line at both Notre Dame and Northwestern universities, and
1-18 being the only woman photographing the 1944 World Series from the
1-19 infield in St. Louis; and
1-20 WHEREAS, By 1945, Ms. Robertson, through Press
1-21 Syndicate, achieved war correspondent status and was assigned to
1-22 the Alaska-Aleutian area, Ladd Field in Fairbanks, the only woman
1-23 war correspondent; despite being detained to quarters for 34 days
2-1 because the commanding officer of the Alaska Division ATC wanted no
2-2 women on his base, she was allowed--after intervention in the
2-3 matter by former Illinois Governor Dwight Green, former United
2-4 States Senator C. Wayland Brooks, and former United States
2-5 Representative Everett Dirksen--to remain in Alaska and pursue her
2-6 work photographing United States and Russian military movements,
2-7 and the commanding officer was then recalled; and
2-8 WHEREAS, Ms. Robertson was prepared to do just about anything
2-9 to get a good photo/story, including spending hours in cold bomber
2-10 sites and even hanging out open bays of B-24 aircraft to get the
2-11 perfect shot, flying wherever the military moved; and
2-12 WHEREAS, Ms. Robertson's features and photographs on World
2-13 War II received wide acclaim in major daily newspapers and
2-14 magazines across the country such as National Geographic and
2-15 Flying; and
2-16 WHEREAS, After the war, Ms. Robertson went to Venezuela at
2-17 first to do publicity for a new Venezuelan airline, but she ended
2-18 up working for Shell Oil Company and Standard Oil Company producing
2-19 color calendars, documenting drilling operations, and writing
2-20 features for their company magazines; and
2-21 WHEREAS, In May of 1949, in a quest to be the first to prove
2-22 that Angel Falls was the highest waterfall in the world,
2-23 Ms. Robertson led the first successful overland expedition into the
2-24 remote interior below the Orinoco River in Venezuela to measure the
2-25 falls and take the first photographs from its base; and
3-1 WHEREAS, By November of that year, an article appeared
3-2 in National Geographic magazine about the Angel Falls expedition,
3-3 written and illustrated by Ms. Robertson herself; further articles
3-4 about the expedition appeared in Time and Newsweek magazines as
3-5 well as in major newspapers around the world; and
3-6 WHEREAS, Ms. Robertson went on to become Assistant Managing
3-7 Editor and daily columnist for the Caracas Daily Journal from 1955
3-8 to 1959 and spent the years from 1959 to 1966 as Assistant Editor,
3-9 and then Editor, of the American Society Bulletin in Mexico City;
3-10 and
3-11 WHEREAS, In 1977, Ms. Robertson wrote a book about her many
3-12 adventures in Venezuela, entitled Cherun Meru--The Tallest Angel,
3-13 another of her numerous works to be well-received; and
3-14 WHEREAS, Ms. Robertson's career of more than 50 years was
3-15 spent photographing celebrities from around the world and ranged
3-16 from John Barrymore; Madame Chiang Kai-shek; the Truman family;
3-17 Eleanor Roosevelt; Margaret Mead; Prince Philip; Queen Juliana and
3-18 Prince Bernard; the Crown Prince and Princess of Japan; to Dizzy
3-19 Dean and Stan Musial; to bullfighter Dominguin and oil fire fighter
3-20 "Red" Adair; to the native peoples of the Arctic and the deepest
3-21 jungles; she claims that her greatest rewards are the people she
3-22 has met along the way; and
3-23 WHEREAS, The Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at The
3-24 University of Texas at Austin has recently acquired Ms. Robertson's
3-25 career archive, which is to be made available to scholars and
4-1 researchers in the fields of geography, anthropology, journalism,
4-2 and photography; and
4-3 WHEREAS, On July 1, 1993, the first exhibit of
4-4 Ms. Robertson's photographs entitled "Ruth Robertson:
4-5 Photojournalist, The Forgotten Expedition, Angel Falls, Venezuela,
4-6 1949" will be presented at the Leeds Gallery of The University of
4-7 Texas at Austin; and
4-8 WHEREAS, It is fitting and appropriate that the Texas House
4-9 of Representatives join the Society of Woman Geographers, and The
4-10 University of Texas at Austin, in recognizing the unique talents
4-11 and profound achievements of this special woman; now, therefore, be
4-12 it
4-13 RESOLVED, That the Texas House of Representatives, 73rd
4-14 Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, hereby congratulate Ruth Agnes
4-15 McCall Robertson on her many outstanding contributions to the
4-16 fields of journalism, photography, and other endeavors; and, be it
4-17 further
4-18 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution, enrolled
4-19 on parchment, be prepared for Ms. Robertson as a token of highest
4-20 esteem from the Texas House of Representatives.
4-21 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution, enrolled
4-22 on parchment, be prepared for Ms. Robertson as a token of highest
4-23 esteem from the Texas House of Representatives.
4-24 McCoulskey
4-25 H.R. No. 890
5-1 _______________________________
5-2 Speaker of the House
5-3 I certify that H.R. No. 890 was adopted by the House on May
5-4 31, 1993, by a non-record vote.
5-5 _______________________________
5-6 Chief Clerk of the House