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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The 23rd annual Texas Scottish Festival & Highland |
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Games are being held at Maverick Stadium on the campus of The |
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University of Texas at Arlington, June 5 through 7, 2009; and |
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WHEREAS, One of the largest Scottish gatherings in the |
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country, this outstanding family event offers the public a chance |
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to enjoy traditional Scottish music, dancing, food, and athletic |
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competitions, as well as many other Scottish-themed activities; and |
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WHEREAS, Scots and people of Scottish descent have long made |
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notable contributions to the exploration and development of this |
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state; in the early 1830s, naturalist Thomas Drummond, a native |
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Scot, collected an extensive number of plant and animal specimens |
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between the coast and the Edwards Plateau; his collections were |
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later distributed internationally to a number of museums and other |
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institutions; and |
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WHEREAS, Among the first northern Europeans to settle in |
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Texas, Scots and their descendants composed more than 40 percent of |
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Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred and predominated among the |
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more than 600 families in Robertson's Colony; other prominent |
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Texans of Scottish ancestry included such heroes of the Texas |
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Revolution as Sam Houston, David Crockett, and the empresario |
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Sterling Clack Robertson, who signed both the Texas Declaration of |
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Independence and the constitution of the Republic of Texas; |
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moreover, four Scottish-born soldiers fought with the Texans at the |
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Alamo, and one of them, John MacGregor, is reported to have rallied |
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his comrades with his bagpipes during the siege; and |
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WHEREAS, After Texas became a republic and then a state, |
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Scots and their descendants continued to make their mark; some who |
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achieved prominence were George Cupples, a physician, Jesse |
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Chisholm, a frontier trader, interpreter, and trailblazer, and |
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Edmund Duncan Montgomery, a scientist and philosopher; in addition, |
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Scottish capitalists financed the establishment of vast cattle |
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spreads and also the building of the present State Capitol, which |
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was constructed with the help of Scottish stonemasons; and |
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WHEREAS, Today, organizations around the state promote |
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fellowship among Scottish Texans, as well as such popular |
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traditions as Scottish dance and highland games; the state even has |
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its own official plaid, the Texas Bluebonnet Tartan; and |
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WHEREAS, Scots and their descendants have made an indelible |
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imprint on the Lone Star State, and the Texas Scottish Festival & |
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Highland Games provide a fitting opportunity to salute their myriad |
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contributions; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas |
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Legislature hereby recognize June 2009 as Scottish Heritage Month |
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and commemorate the 23rd annual Texas Scottish Festival & Highland |
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Games in Arlington. |
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Branch |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 2854 was adopted by the House on June |
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1, 2009, by a non-record vote. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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