By Merritt H.C.R. No. 229 77R9889 MJS-D HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-1 WHEREAS, On March 27, 2001, residents from Kilgore are 1-2 gathering in Austin to celebrate Kilgore Day at the State Capitol; 1-3 and 1-4 WHEREAS, Established in 1872 when the International-Great 1-5 Northern Railroad built a line between Longview and Palestine, 1-6 Kilgore is uniquely situated in the Piney Woods of East Texas and 1-7 is named for Constantine Buckley Kilgore, who was a delegate at the 1-8 Constitutional Convention of 1875 and served as a state senator and 1-9 U.S. congressman from the area; Kilgore is on the Green Carpet 1-10 Route and is located in the Texas-Louisiana border region; the city 1-11 is 60 miles from Shreveport, Louisiana, and 120 miles east of 1-12 Dallas; and 1-13 WHEREAS, In its infancy, the city relied on its cotton crops 1-14 to spur its economy; Kilgore underwent a dramatic transformation in 1-15 1930 with the discovery of the East Texas oilfield, which helped to 1-16 spark a boom that would see more than 1,100 oil-producing wells 1-17 spring up in the city; one block of downtown Kilgore had the 1-18 greatest concentration of derricks in the world and came to be 1-19 known as the "World's Richest Acre"; and 1-20 WHEREAS, Today, the city has a multifaceted economy that 1-21 revolves around petroleum, manufacturing, government, mining, 1-22 tourism, and various other business enterprises; and 1-23 WHEREAS, Kilgore features such diverse attractions as the 1-24 East Texas Oil Museum, the World's Richest Acre Park, and Kilgore 2-1 College; the home of the Kilgore Rangerettes, who are world 2-2 renowned for their trademark high-kick routines, the college is 2-3 also the site of the popular Rangerette Showcase; in addition, at 2-4 9:42 a.m. on Wednesday, June 10, 1998, the East Texas Oil Museum 2-5 welcomed its one millionth visitor; moreover, Laird Memorial 2-6 Hospital celebrated its 50th anniversary in March 2001; and 2-7 WHEREAS, Kilgore is the home of James M. Logan, who was the 2-8 first recipient of the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor and a 2-9 recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor; it is also the home 2-10 of Van Cliburn, a world-renowned pianist who received the Texas 2-11 Medal of Arts Lifetime Achievement Award on March 20, 2001; along 2-12 those same lines, former Kilgore resident Wayne Bell, who attended 2-13 Kilgore Heights Elementary School with Van Cliburn and took piano 2-14 lessons from Van Cliburn's mother, was accorded the Texas Medal of 2-15 Arts Award in architecture on March 20, 2001; and 2-16 WHEREAS, The citizens of Kilgore are embracing the myriad 2-17 challenges and opportunities of the future while continuing to 2-18 build on their colorful history and rich culture; it is indeed most 2-19 appropriate that Kilgore and its fine citizens be recognized for 2-20 their contributions and accomplishments at this time; now, 2-21 therefore, be it 2-22 RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas 2-23 hereby designate March 27, 2001, as Kilgore Day at the State 2-24 Capitol and extend sincere best wishes to the delegation here today 2-25 for an enjoyable and memorable visit.