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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to | ||||||
| 3 | congratulate the City of Harvard on the 85th anniversary of | ||||||
| 4 | its annual Harvard Milk Days festival; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Planning for the first Harvard Milk Days festival | ||||||
| 6 | began under Harvard Chamber of Commerce President Frank W. | ||||||
| 7 | Lanning, owner of Lanning Bag Company, in 1941 and was | ||||||
| 8 | finalized by President R.J. Goll in 1942, when the festival | ||||||
| 9 | became a reality with the help of Earl McIntyre and Vern Gay; | ||||||
| 10 | and | ||||||
| 11 | WHEREAS, The first Harvard Milk Day was a single-day event | ||||||
| 12 | in which men, women, and children gathered to honor local | ||||||
| 13 | dairy farms on June 18, 1942; the festival received the | ||||||
| 14 | official title of Milk Day in 1943, when it featured a showing | ||||||
| 15 | of dairy cattle; the first Milk Days Queen was crowned in 1945, | ||||||
| 16 | the first large-scale parade was held in 1946, and events such | ||||||
| 17 | as the 1949 "whitewash" of Ayer Street, which caused it to | ||||||
| 18 | resemble the Milky Way, continued to flourish throughout the | ||||||
| 19 | years; and | ||||||
| 20 | WHEREAS, Harvard Milk Days eventually grew into a | ||||||
| 21 | three-day celebration that was held in a variety of locations | ||||||
| 22 | before making its permanent home at Milky Way Park in 2022, | ||||||
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| 1 | where more than $300,000 in improvements have been made to the | ||||||
| 2 | festival grounds, including the addition of a barn hosting | ||||||
| 3 | dairy cows and calves, the creation of paths, and the | ||||||
| 4 | establishment of a water supply for multiple areas; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Harvard Milk Days celebrates its 85th anniversary | ||||||
| 6 | as the United States marks 250 years, with this summer's | ||||||
| 7 | festival taking place June 5-7, 2026 and a variety of events | ||||||
| 8 | being held in May and June, including the crowning of the Milk | ||||||
| 9 | Days Queen on May 9th and the Milk Days breakfast on June 6th; | ||||||
| 10 | and | ||||||
| 11 | WHEREAS, Harvard Milk Days, which draws thousands of | ||||||
| 12 | participants each year, is the oldest and longest-running | ||||||
| 13 | hometown celebration in the State of Illinois; therefore, be | ||||||
| 14 | it | ||||||
| 15 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 16 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the | ||||||
| 17 | City of Harvard on the 85th anniversary of its annual Harvard | ||||||
| 18 | Milk Days festival, and we extend our best wishes for many more | ||||||
| 19 | years of successful celebrations; and be it further | ||||||
| 20 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 21 | presented to the Mayor of the City of Harvard as an expression | ||||||
| 22 | of our esteem and respect. | ||||||