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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, In observance of the 80th anniversary of the New |
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London school explosion, the London Ex-Student and Memorial |
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Association, the West Rusk Alumni Association, and the New London |
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Museum are hosting a Day of Remembrance and All-School Reunion on |
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March 18, 2017; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1937, New London, Texas, boasted one of the most |
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prosperous rural school districts in the nation, thanks to the |
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area's booming oil fields, and community residents took pride in |
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their new state-of-the-art school building; and |
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WHEREAS, Shortly after three o'clock on the afternoon of |
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March 18, children were preparing for an upcoming interscholastic |
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meet in a nearby town when a shop instructor switched on a sanding |
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machine; unbeknownst to anyone, a natural gas leak had filled the |
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school's basement with an incendiary mix of gas and air, and the |
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machine's spark ignited an explosion that destroyed the school in |
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an instant, collapsing the walls and bringing the roof down upon the |
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children and teachers below; the explosion was heard four miles |
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away, and a two-ton slab of concrete was hurled 200 feet, crushing a |
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car; and |
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WHEREAS, Hundreds of frantic parents and community members |
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rushed to the scene, and some 1,500 roughnecks from the nearby |
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oilfields dropped their work to join in the rescue and recovery |
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effort; within an hour, Governor James Allred had sent the Texas |
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Rangers and the highway patrol to lend assistance; and |
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WHEREAS, Of the 500 students and 40 teachers in the building |
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at the time, nearly 300 died; the new Mother Francis Hospital in |
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Tyler canceled its dedication ceremony to treat the injured, and |
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the Texas Funeral Directors Association sent 25 embalmers to the |
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scene; the disaster became international news, drawing journalists |
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from around the nation, including a young Walter Cronkite; and |
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WHEREAS, In the aftermath of the explosion, the Texas |
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Legislature passed a law requiring that a distinctive scent be |
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added to natural gas so that future tragedies of that nature might |
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be avoided; today, the worst school disaster in U.S. history is |
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recorded in the exhibits of the New London Museum and remembered |
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with a cenotaph displaying the names of all those who lost their |
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lives; and |
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WHEREAS, The memory of this horrific tragedy reminds us of |
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the fragility of life, but it also serves as a testament to the |
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power of community, and even as we pay tribute to the lives that |
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were lost, we also honor the heroic efforts of all those who rushed |
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to their aid; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
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Legislature hereby commemorate the 80th anniversary of the New |
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London school explosion and extend to all those associated with the |
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Day of Remembrance sincere best wishes for a meaningful and |
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memorable event; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That official copies of this resolution be prepared |
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for the London Ex-Student and Memorial Association, the West Rusk |
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Alumni Association, and the New London Museum as an expression of |
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high regard by the Texas House of Representatives. |
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Clardy |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 394 was adopted by the House on |
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February 23, 2017, by a non-record vote. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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