This website will be unavailable from Friday, April 26, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. through Monday, April 29, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. due to data center maintenance.

                                                                                

79S30154 MDM-D

By:  Gonzalez Toureilles                                          H.R. No. 83 



R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, The history of the Lone Star State has been richly 
influenced by family farming and ranching, and James L. Rayes and 
his sister, Susan "Rebecca" Rayes Glover, have been formally 
acknowledged as heirs to that proud tradition with the acceptance 
of the Lewis Ranch into the Texas Family Land Heritage Program; and
	WHEREAS, Sponsored by the Texas Department of Agriculture, 
the Family Land Heritage Program recognizes farms and ranches that 
have been continuously operated by the same family for a century or 
more; and
	WHEREAS, Located in Atascosa and McMullen Counties, the Lewis 
Ranch had its origins in 1905, when Gonzales County native James P. 
Lewis purchased 10,000 acres from E. M. Tom; Mr. Lewis and his wife, 
Margaret Dilworth Lewis, raised cattle, hay, and cotton on their 
property, where they lived with their two children, James and 
Susan; and
	WHEREAS, In 1950, James Lewis, Jr., and his sister, Susan 
Lewis Peck, acquired 6,783 acres of the land, and with their 
spouses, Eva Coe Lewis and B. N. Peck, they raised cattle and hay; 
James died in 1954, but his widow carried on, managing and improving 
the ranch in spite of serious droughts in the 1950s; and
	WHEREAS, In 1958, James and Eva's daughter and son-in-law, 
Margaret and Perry O. Rayes, acquired 5,983 acres of the ranch; they 
continued to raise cattle and hay and made extensive improvements; 
and
	WHEREAS, The three children of Margaret and Perry Rayes 
inherited the land in 1998; siblings James L. Rayes and Rebecca 
Rayes Glover, great-grandchildren of the founder, acquired 4,604 
acres; in addition to raising cattle and hay, the pair are focusing 
on land improvement and wildlife management, with Rebecca Glover's 
husband, David, supervising the latter endeavor; and
	WHEREAS, Today, the family is active in the Texas and 
Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, Independent Cattlemen's 
Association of Texas, Texas Quarter Horse Association, and Texas 
Farm Bureau; and
	WHEREAS, The role of the family ranch in Texas history is both 
significant and long-standing, and it is most appropriate that the 
Lewis Ranch be recognized for its enduring contributions to 
agriculture in the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 79th Texas 
Legislature, 3rd Called Session, hereby congratulate James L. Rayes 
and Susan "Rebecca" Rayes Glover on the recognition accorded the 
Lewis Ranch by the Family Land Heritage Program and extend to all 
those associated with the ranch sincere best wishes for continued 
success; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 
prepared for the Rayes and Glover families as an expression of high 
regard by the Texas House of Representatives.