R E S O L U T I O N 1-1 WHEREAS, The Lone Star State enjoys a rich and proud history 1-2 that encompasses a variety of cultural and ethnic heritages; and 1-3 WHEREAS, The many individuals who helped form our past were 1-4 laid to rest in now-historic cemeteries in communities, homesteads, 1-5 and churchyards across the state; and 1-6 WHEREAS, Thousands of these cemeteries, particularly those in 1-7 rural areas, are located on private property owned by individuals 1-8 who have no relationship to those interred there, and many of the 1-9 cemeteries are now in an imperiled condition; and 1-10 WHEREAS, Texas law allows interested citizens and descendants 1-11 of individuals buried in historic cemeteries to visit these sites 1-12 and maintain them, but inaccessibility, inconvenience, or lack of 1-13 public awareness concerning the issues of cemetery visitation often 1-14 prevents these actions from occurring; and 1-15 WHEREAS, In 1994, Save Texas Cemeteries, Inc., was organized 1-16 as a nonprofit educational corporation to enhance knowledge of the 1-17 importance of preserving historic Texas cemeteries; and 1-18 WHEREAS, An essential element of this goal is the provision 1-19 of guaranteed access to all cemeteries in the state; towards this 1-20 end, the first Sundays in April and October should be set aside 1-21 annually as dates of visitation to Texas cemeteries; and 1-22 WHEREAS, The members of this chamber endorse this important 1-23 initiative in hope of fostering a greater understanding of our 1-24 state's rich legacy, especially as it exists in thousands of 2-1 historic cemeteries; now, therefore, be it 2-2 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 75th Texas 2-3 Legislature hereby recognize the annual observance of the first 2-4 Sundays in April and October as Texas Cemetery Visitation Days, to 2-5 be known as Texas Cemeteries: A Bridge to the Past, and encourage 2-6 all Texans to participate in this worthy effort. Kubiak Laney Gutierrez Oliveira Alexander Haggerty Olivo Allen Hamric Palmer Alvarado Hartnett Patterson Averitt Hawley Pickett Bailey Heflin Pitts Berlanga Hernandez Place Bonnen Hightower Price Bosse Hilbert Puente Brimer Hilderbran Rabuck Burnam Hill Ramsay Carter Hinojosa Rangel Chavez Hirschi Raymond Chisum Hochberg Reyna of Bexar Christian Hodge Reyna of Dallas Clark Holzheauser Rhodes Coleman Horn Rodriguez Cook Howard Roman Corte Hunter Sadler Counts Hupp Seaman Crabb Isett Serna Craddick Jackson Shields Cuellar Janek Siebert Culberson Jones of Lubbock Smith Danburg Jones of Dallas Smithee Davila Junell Solis Davis Kamel Solomons Delisi Keel Staples Denny Keffer Stiles Driver King Swinford Dukes Krusee Talton Dunnam Kubiak Telford Dutton Kuempel Thompson Edwards Lewis of Tarrant Tillery Ehrhardt Lewis of Orange Torres Eiland Longoria Turner of Coleman Elkins Luna Turner of Harris Farrar McCall Uher Finnell McClendon Van de Putte Flores McReynolds Walker Gallego Madden West Galloway Marchant Williams Garcia Maxey Williamson Giddings Merritt Wilson Glaze Moffat Wise Goodman Moreno Wohlgemuth Goolsby Mowery Wolens Gray Naishtat Woolley Greenberg Nixon Yarbrough Grusendorf Oakley Zbranek _______________________________ Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 1097 was adopted by the House on May 26, 1997, by a non-record vote. _______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House