| |
| |
|
|
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
|
|
|
WHEREAS, For more than a century, the South Texas community |
|
|
of Poteet has been known across the Lone Star State as a source of |
|
|
delicious strawberries and as the host of a renowned annual |
|
|
strawberry festival; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In 1911, city founders Henry and Ida Mumme began to |
|
|
grow strawberries in their kitchen garden, and within 10 years, the |
|
|
community's strawberry crop had become one of its most successful |
|
|
products; local citizens invited residents of nearby San Antonio to |
|
|
sample the town's strawberries in 1921, and the San Antonio |
|
|
Express-News ran a story headlined "Crimson Berries Beckon Hungry |
|
|
Tourists to Poteet"; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Building on the city's reputation, the Poteet Rotary |
|
|
Club staged the first Poteet Strawberry Festival in April 1948, |
|
|
hoping to provide an incentive for veterans of World War II to |
|
|
return to area farms; the club also promoted more careful packing of |
|
|
the crop so that each buyer would receive a uniform pint, flat, or |
|
|
crate of berries; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Over the course of the past 77 years, the festival |
|
|
has grown to become one of the signature springtime events in South |
|
|
Texas, drawing 100,000 visitors and contributing as much as $12 |
|
|
million to the local economy each year; in addition to the |
|
|
strawberries themselves, including those sold at the |
|
|
much-anticipated strawberry auction, the popular gathering |
|
|
features live music, a parade, and a food show; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The event also serves as a means of supporting area |
|
|
students; for more than two decades, the Poteet Strawberry Festival |
|
|
Association has presented college scholarships to a host of |
|
|
deserving recipients each year, and many of the churches, schools, |
|
|
and civic organizations that participate in the festival donate |
|
|
scholarships as well; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, This sweet, juicy, and colorful fruit is a delight |
|
|
to behold and to taste, and for many years, the citizens of Poteet |
|
|
have made the strawberry both a source of prosperity and a cause for |
|
|
celebration; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the 89th Legislature of the State of Texas |
|
|
hereby redesignate Poteet as the official Strawberry Capital of |
|
|
Texas; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That, in accordance with the provisions of Section |
|
|
391.003(e), Government Code, this designation remain in effect |
|
|
until the 10th anniversary of the date this resolution is finally |
|
|
passed by the legislature. |