HR0055

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HOUSE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, The City of Arcola will celebrate its 
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Sesquicentennial Homecoming on July 9-10, 2005; Arcola was 
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incorporated in 1873; and

 
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    WHEREAS, One hundred and fifty years of Amazing Arcola - 
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the city that moved from the river to the railroad, had to take 
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a new name, and became famous for broomcorn, football, and 
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Raggedy Ann; and

 
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    WHEREAS, The City of Arcola, population 2,652, is located 
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in Douglas County; on October 22, 1855, a surveyor from Coles 
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County laid out a small piece of ground a half-mile wide, with 
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the Illinois Central Railroad cutting right through the middle, 
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and the new little settlement was called Okaw; and

 
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    WHEREAS, When the town of Okaw applied for a postal permit, 
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they were told there was already a town named Okaw with a post 
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office, so Okaw was  renamed Arcola; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Arcola's Colonel Cofer brought a few bushels of 
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broomcorn seed and planted twenty acres; the seed produced a 
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fine product and many area farmers began growing fields of 
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broomcorn, making this area "Broomcorn Capital of the World"; 
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and

 
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    WHEREAS, Johnny Gruelle, the creator of Raggedy Ann and 
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Andy, was born in Arcola and Arcola has a Johnny Gruelle 
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Raggedy Ann and Andy Museum; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Arcola is also the entry point to Illinois' 
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largest Amish settlement and the Illinois Amish Interpretive 
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Center and Amish country tours; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Arcola has a quaint downtown area with lots of 
 


 






HR0055
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LRB094 07100 CSA 37245 r




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unique shops and historically-restored buildings; some of the 
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churches and the library are the original buildings; Arcola is 
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home to the Arcola Purple Riders and the Famous Arcola Lawn 
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Rangers; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Several activities during the Sesquicentennial 
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Homecoming are being planned, along with the reopening of the 
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centennial vault; therefore, be it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE  HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
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NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 
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we congratulate the City of Arcola on the occasion of its 
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Sesquicentennial Homecoming celebration; and be it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to the City of Arcola as an expression of our esteem.