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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The Garden of Eden Neighborhood Association in |
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Tarrant County was the Grand Prize winner of the 2006 Neighborhood |
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of the Year competition, sponsored by the nonprofit organization |
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Neighborhoods, USA; and |
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WHEREAS, Though less than three years old at the time, this |
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dynamic organization also collected a first-place award in the |
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Social Revitalization--Single Neighborhood category at the |
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Neighborhoods, USA, annual conference; both awards were conferred |
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in recognition of the association's outstanding project, a |
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three-day neighborhood reunion that brought together more than 200 |
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individuals, some of whom hadn't seen each other in 40 years; while |
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celebrating and rededicating the land on which their families had |
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lived for more than a century and a half, the reunion also raised |
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funds for a planned neighborhood museum; and |
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WHEREAS, The Garden of Eden neighborhood is situated on the |
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site of Birdville, the earliest settlement in Tarrant County; |
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today, residents of this historic neighborhood claim ties to the |
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Cheney/Loyd/Sanders families, with roots in the area going back to |
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the 1840s; Major Cheney, who inherited 300 acres of land there in |
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the later 1800s, married Malinda Loyd in 1881; she also came from a |
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family of substantial Tarrant County landowners and was noted as |
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living in the Garden of Eden in the 1860 census, when she was seven |
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years old; approximately 250 of Malinda and Major Cheney's |
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descendents still live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and some 15 to |
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20 of them reside on Carson Street, the heart of the Garden of Eden |
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neighborhood; and |
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WHEREAS, When a 2004 zoning change threatened to make part of |
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Carson Street a light-industrial area, residents succeeded in |
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having the zoning designated "single family"; at the same time, |
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they formed the Garden of Eden Neighborhood Association to |
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represent the Garden of Eden and the Joe Louis Addition; members of |
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the association chose as their motto "Neighborhood DNA--Defining |
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Our Neighborhood's Assets"; and |
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WHEREAS, The Garden of Eden NA has advocated for |
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infrastructure repairs and environmental causes, created a |
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newsletter, undertaken a voter registration drive, and collected |
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cell phones for victims of domestic violence; the association has |
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also formed a nonprofit organization, the Carson Street Historic |
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Preservation Group, to build alliances with businesses and |
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government agencies and develop residential properties; and |
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WHEREAS, One of the neighborhood's most ambitious projects is |
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the creation of an agricultural museum that will help Metroplex |
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schoolchildren gain an understanding of what life was once like on |
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area farms; among the museum's amenities will be a library, art |
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gallery, nature trail, and bird sanctuary; and |
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WHEREAS, Since its founding, the Garden of Eden NA has |
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collected a host of accolades; the City of Fort Worth, the Fort |
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Worth League of Neighborhood Associations, and the Fort Worth |
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Neighborhood Education Center jointly named it the Neighborhood of |
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the Year in 2004 and the following year conferred on it the Spirit |
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of Fort Worth Award; in 2005, the City of Fort Worth also designated |
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Carson Street as the first African American historical and cultural |
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district in Tarrant County, a recognition that subsequently helped |
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earn the Garden of Eden NA a Citation of Merit from the Historic |
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Fort Worth, Inc., Board of Directors; and |
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WHEREAS, The far-reaching endeavors undertaken by the Garden |
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of Eden Neighborhood Association are considered a model for |
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preservation efforts in other historic African American |
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communities, and the members of that association are to be |
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commended for their exceptional stewardship of a heritage rich in |
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tradition, achievement, and public service; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 80th Texas |
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Legislature hereby congratulate the Garden of Eden Neighborhood |
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Association on its receipt of the 2006 Grand Prize as Neighborhood |
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of the Year from Neighborhoods, USA, and extend to all those |
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affiliated with the association sincere best wishes for continued |
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success; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for the Garden of Eden Neighborhood Association as an |
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expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives. |
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Veasey |
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| Anderson |
Gonzalez Toureilles |
Mowery |
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| Brown of Kaufman |
Harper-Brown |
Ortiz, Jr. |
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| Brown of Brazos |
Hartnett |
Otto |
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| Callegari |
Hernandez |
Patrick |
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| Christian |
Hochberg |
Pickett |
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| Cook of Navarro |
Hopson |
Puente |
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| Cook of Colorado |
Howard of Fort Bend |
Quintanilla |
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| Corte |
Howard of Travis |
Raymond |
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| Crownover |
Jackson |
Rodriguez |
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| Davis of Harris |
Keffer |
Smith of Tarrant |
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| Davis of Dallas |
King of Parker |
Smith of Harris |
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| Delisi |
King of Taylor |
Smithee |
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| Deshotel |
King of Zavala |
Solomons |
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| Eissler |
Leibowitz |
Thompson |
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| Escobar |
Madden |
Van Arsdale |
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| Farabee |
Mallory Caraway |
Vaught |
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| Farrar |
Martinez Fischer |
Villarreal |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 170 was adopted by the House on |
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February 22, 2007, by a non-record vote. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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