78R10780 JH-D

By:  Gattis                                                       H.R. No. 727



R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, The citizens of Georgetown are celebrating the 
fourth annual Texas Red Poppy Festival on April 26-27, 2003; and
	WHEREAS, A vibrant addition to the community's landscape each 
spring, the red poppy arrived in Georgetown nearly eight decades 
ago during World War I when native son Henry Purl Compton sent his 
mother a packet of red poppy seeds from Flanders Field; she planted 
the seeds, and the beautiful blossoms soon began to spread 
throughout the community; and
	WHEREAS, In the years since, the Red Poppy Garden Club, the 
City of Georgetown, the Williamson County Sun, and other 
organizations have worked to preserve and perpetuate this colorful 
flower by giving away and selling millions of seeds to local 
residents; and
	WHEREAS, Officially designated the Red Poppy Capital of Texas 
by the 71st Texas Legislature in 1990, the City of Georgetown 
established the festival four years ago to celebrate the blooming 
of this lovely flower and the coming of spring, and it has quickly 
become one of the city's most anticipated and popular events; now, 
therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 78th Texas 
Legislature hereby commemorate the fourth annual Texas Red Poppy 
Festival in Georgetown and extend best wishes to the event's 
organizers and participants for a memorable and enjoyable 
celebration.