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HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, More than a century ago, peanut farming became |
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integral to the economy of Floresville, and the city's residents |
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have long embraced the area's most famous cash crop as an indelible |
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part of the community's culture and heritage; and |
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WHEREAS, Situated 30 miles southeast of San Antonio, |
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Floresville was founded in 1867, and it became the seat of Wilson |
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County in 1873; agriculture was the backbone of the local economy |
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from the outset, and beginning in the 1910s, cotton and livestock |
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gave way to an important new crop: peanuts; and |
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WHEREAS, Pioneering growers such as Joe T. Sheehy realized |
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that peanuts were well-suited to the sandy soil of the region, and |
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the legume quickly became the area's main agricultural commodity; |
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by the 1930s, more than 150 farmers in the county were involved in |
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the business, leading residents to informally refer to Floresville |
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as the state's "peanut capital"; and |
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WHEREAS, To celebrate the importance of the crop, the |
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inaugural Floresville Peanut Festival was staged in 1938, and more |
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than eight decades later, it remains the city's signature event; |
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over 10,000 people attend the celebration each October, enjoying |
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parades, pageants, the Goober Games, and myriad other activities; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Floresville's strong historical and commercial |
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association with the peanut has been a source of great pride for |
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generations of area residents, and it is indeed deserving of |
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special recognition; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 88th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby designate Floresville as the official Peanut Capital of |
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Texas; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That, in accordance with the provisions of Section |
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391.003(e), Government Code, this designation remain in effect |
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until the 10th anniversary of the date this resolution is finally |
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passed by the legislature. |