H.C.R. No. 78

	HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
	WHEREAS, Public-spirited citizens of Kilgore are gathering
	in Austin on March 2 and 3, 2009, to celebrate Kilgore Days at the
	State Capitol; and
	WHEREAS, Present in the chamber on this occasion are
	community leaders Mr. and Mrs. Sammy York, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth
	Plunk, Mr. and Mrs. Bobby Hale, Mr. and Mrs. Mike Coston, Theresa
	Ferguson, Tammy Ritter, B. J. Owens, Amanda Nobles, Barbara
	Garrett, Mr. and Mrs. Kent Bryson, Gerey Dillinger, Gene Keenon,
	Dr. Charles Whiteside, Jeff Howell, Randy Brogoitti, Mr. and Mrs.
	Harvey McClendon, and Mr. and Mrs. Rodney Bell; and
	WHEREAS, Set among the lush pinewoods of East Texas, Kilgore
	was founded in 1872 along the International-Great Northern Railroad
	and named after community leader Constantine Buckley "Buck"
	Kilgore, a state senator and Confederate veteran; and
	WHEREAS, Initially the town developed as a center for cotton
	farming, and it thrived until the onset of the Great Depression,
	when its population abruptly fell by half; the discovery of oil in
	1930, however, turned the hard-pressed community into a lively
	boomtown; within six years, Kilgore's population swelled from 500
	to 12,000; at the peak of the boom, there were 1,100 oil wells
	within the city limits; one downtown block, known as the "World's
	Richest Acre," held the greatest concentration of oil derricks in
	the world at the time; and
	WHEREAS, Today Kilgore is an important center for both the
	oil and high-tech industries, with such major employers as
	Halliburton Energy Services, General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies,
	Skeeter Products, and Exterran having a presence in the city; and
	WHEREAS, Kilgore College is the educational and cultural hub
	of the area; home to the Texas Shakespeare Festival and the famous
	Kilgore Rangerettes, reputed to be the world's first women's
	precision drill team, the campus is also host to the East Texas Oil
	Museum, where the history of the oil boom of the 1930s is colorfully
	re-created through exhibits and dioramas; another notable
	attraction is the exciting new baseball franchise, the East Texas
	Pump Jacks of the Texas Collegiate League, which played its
	inaugural season in 2008; and
	WHEREAS, The community has honored its colorful past with the
	placement of 60 replica oil derricks throughout the town; each
	holiday season, the derricks are decorated with Christmas lights
	and stars, helping Kilgore to earn the title "City of Stars"; and
	WHEREAS, Celebrating their rich history as they prepare to
	meet the opportunities that lie ahead, the citizens of Kilgore are
	justifiably proud of their community, and it is a privilege to honor
	their contribution to the story of the Lone Star State; now,
	therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas
	hereby declare March 2 and 3, 2009, as Kilgore Days at the State
	Capitol and extend best wishes to the visiting delegation for an
	enjoyable and memorable stay in Austin.
	Merritt
	Straus Gattis Menendez
	Allen Geren Merritt
	Alonzo Giddings Miklos
	Alvarado Gonzales Miller of Comal
	Anchia Gonzalez Toureilles Miller of Erath
	Anderson Guillen Moody
	Aycock Gutierrez Morrison
	Berman Hamilton Naishtat
	Bohac Hancock Oliveira
	Bolton Hardcastle Olivo
	Bonnen Harless Orr
	Branch Harper-Brown Ortiz, Jr.
	Brown of Kaufman Hartnett Otto
	Brown of Brazos Heflin Parker
	Burnam Hernandez Patrick
	Button Herrero Paxton
	Callegari Hilderbran Peña
	Castro Hochberg Phillips
	Chavez Hodge Pickett
	Chisum Homer Pierson
	Christian Hopson Pitts
	Cohen Howard of Fort Bend Quintanilla
	Coleman Howard of Travis Raymond
	Cook Hughes Riddle
	Corte Hunter Rios Ybarra
	Crabb Isett Ritter
	Craddick Jackson Rodriguez
	Creighton Jones Rose
	Crownover Keffer Sheffield
	Darby Kent Shelton
	Davis of Harris King of Parker Smith of Tarrant
	Davis of Dallas King of Taylor Smith of Harris
	Deshotel King of Zavala Smithee
	Driver Kleinschmidt Solomons
	Dukes Kolkhorst Strama
	Dunnam Kuempel Swinford
	Dutton Laubenberg Taylor
	Edwards Legler Thibaut
	Eiland Leibowitz Thompson
	Eissler Lewis Truitt
	Elkins Lucio III Turner of Tarrant
	England Madden Turner of Harris
	Farabee Maldonado Vaught
	Farias Mallory Caraway Veasey
	Farrar Marquez Villarreal
	Fletcher Martinez Vo
	Flores Martinez Fischer Walle
	Flynn McCall Weber
	Frost McClendon Woolley
	Gallego McReynolds Zerwas
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.C.R. No. 78 was adopted by the House on March
	3, 2009, by a non-record vote.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.C.R. No. 78 was adopted by the Senate on June
	1, 2009, by a viva-voce vote.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED: __________________
	Date
	__________________
	Governor