R E S O L U T I O N

 1-1           WHEREAS, Residents of the Lone Star State are known

 1-2     throughout the world for the fierce pride we take in our colorful

 1-3     history, and residents of the city of Tom Bean will partake of this

 1-4     typically Texan tradition when they celebrate Tom Bean Founders'

 1-5     Day on May 10, 1997; and

 1-6           WHEREAS, First established in 1888 as a stop on the St. Louis

 1-7     Southwestern Railway, the town took its name from local legend Tom

 1-8     Bean, a wealthy Bonham surveyor and landowner with a mysterious

 1-9     past, and although he passed away that same year, speculation on

1-10     his origins remains a favorite topic of the area's amateur

1-11     historians and tale spinners to this day; and

1-12           WHEREAS, One of the region's wealthiest men, Bean often

1-13     boasted that he could ride from Bonham to Austin without ever

1-14     leaving his land, and it was his gift of a 50-acre tract that made

1-15     possible the creation of the town that bore his name; his

1-16     generosity continued even after his death, and his will specified

1-17     that his land should remain unfenced "so poor people could graze

1-18     their livestock on it"; and

1-19           WHEREAS, Toward the end of his life, Bean grew reclusive,

1-20     living in self-imposed poverty, and rumors about his past continued

1-21     to abound; at various times it was claimed that he was wanted for

1-22     murder, that he was the son of a Hessian soldier who fought for the

1-23     Loyalists in the American Revolution, and that he had fled a

1-24     shotgun wedding with the daughter of a prominent judge in Sandwich,

 2-1     New Hampshire, while he maintained that he had no family and took

 2-2     his name when one day he woke up in a bean patch; and

 2-3           WHEREAS, Today, the town of Tom Bean is known for its

 2-4     friendly and hard-working citizenry, and these notable Texans

 2-5     continue to uphold the legacy of their famous forefather through

 2-6     their generosity of spirit, their lively good humor, and their

 2-7     justifiable pride in their hometown; now, therefore, be it

 2-8           RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 75th Texas

 2-9     Legislature hereby recognize May 10, 1997, as Tom Bean Founders'

2-10     Day and extend to all those connected with this event sincere best

2-11     wishes for every success in the future.

                                                                       Clark

                                             _______________________________

                                                   Speaker of the House

               I certify that H.R. No. 821 was adopted by the House on May

         6, 1997, by a non-record vote.

                                             _______________________________

                                                 Chief Clerk of the House