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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, There is perhaps no fonder memory for Texans of all |
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generations than the experience of watching a film in a small town |
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theater, and the Select Theater in Mineola has been providing |
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audiences with fine motion picture entertainment for 93 years, |
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making it the longest continuously running movie theater in the |
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State of Texas; and |
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WHEREAS, The theater was opened in 1920 by a local woman, |
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Mattie Hooks, who had a passionate interest in film; as the only |
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place in Mineola County to see movies, it soon became a social hub |
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as well as an entertainment venue; after Mrs. Hooks died in 1953, it |
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was taken over by her son, Robert Hooks, Jr., and when he passed |
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away in 1961, two longtime employees, James Dear and Truman Thomas, |
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took over the business; since 1986, the theater has been run by the |
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Lake Country Playhouse; and |
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WHEREAS, Over the decades, countless people have delighted in |
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watching movies at the Select, including actress Sissy Spacek, who |
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grew up in nearby Quitman, and Mineola natives such as actor Noble |
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Willingham of Walker, Texas Ranger and former San Francisco mayor |
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Willie Brown; and |
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WHEREAS, Today, the theater screens films every weekend, and |
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five times a year it is the venue for live performances of the Lake |
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Country Playhouse, as well as four performances a year of the Lake |
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Country Orchestra; the theater also often stages "opries" for local |
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musicians, two of whom, Miranda Lambert and Kacey Musgraves, have |
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gone on to become stars in Nashville; and |
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WHEREAS, The history of the Select Theater and its central |
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role in the community have been captured in a new documentary, The |
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Pride of Mineola, which debuted recently at the theater and |
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features interviews with many of the Select's employees and patrons |
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over the years; and |
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WHEREAS, For nearly a century, the Select Theater has allowed |
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the people of Mineola and the surrounding communities to thrill to |
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the gleaming images of everyone from Charlie Chaplin to Leonardo |
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DiCaprio projected 40 feet high on a silver screen and to |
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participate in one of the greatest delights of small town life, the |
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shared experience of watching a movie with one's friends and |
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neighbors; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the 93-year history of the Select |
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Theater in Mineola and extend to the theater's owners, staff, and |
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patrons sincere best wishes for continued happiness; and, be it |
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further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for the Select Theater as an expression of high regard by |
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the Texas House of Representatives. |
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Hughes |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 2384 was adopted by the House on May |
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22, 2013, by a non-record vote. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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