HR0595

LRB094 13832 CSA 48703 r






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HOUSE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, The official Sesquicentennial Celebration of the 
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City of Grayville will take place on August 31, 2005 through 
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September 4, 2005; Grayville was officially chartered in the 
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year of 1855 by the State of Illinois; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Grayville's location on Interstate 64 along the 
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Wabash River makes it a unique portal to the natural beauty and 
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history of southeastern Illinois; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Grayville, population 1,800, is located on the 
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White and Edwards County line, at the mouth of Bonpas Creek on 
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the old channel of the Wabash River; the town's origin dates 
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back to 1810, when Thomas Gray, a Virginian, founded the 
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settlement of Bonpas, located near present-day Grayville; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Grayville sprang up around the trading post of 
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James Gray and Robert Walden, founded in 1830, as the tiny 
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settlements of Bonpas, Oxford, and Florence grew together; the 
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town is actually named for its first storekeeper; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Over the years, Grayville has proved to be a land 
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of opportunity, inhabited by friendly and hard-working people; 
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and

 
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    WHEREAS, The town flourished as a transportation center, 
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first by riverboat and later by railroad, with substantial 
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lumbering and milling interests; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Grayville later became known as the "Hub of the 
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Tri-State Oil Basin" following the oil boom of the 1930s and 
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1940s, boasting a number of oil field businesses; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Grayville citizens have always been quick to 
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perform their patriotic duties, counting among many notables 
 


 






HR0595
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LRB094 13832 CSA 48703 r




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the likes of Rear Admiral James M. Helm, hero of the 
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Spanish-American War; and

 
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    WHEREAS, The people of Grayville have proven a hardy and 
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resilient lot, enduring depressions and wartime along with the 
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rest of the nation, in addition to local calamities and 
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economic setbacks; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Among these same people, hope and optimism flow in 
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abundant supply as they continuously strive for community 
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improvement and to better the lot of their fellow man; and

 
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    WHEREAS, In the words of the late sage Herschel Groff, 
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"Everybody has a friend in Grayville"; 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 Grayville on the occasion of its 
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Sesquicentennial 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 Grayville.