HR0838 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0838 LRB097 20690 GRL 66899 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The official 175th celebration of the founding of the Village of Sainte Marie will take place on June 29-30, 2012; Sainte Marie was officially chartered in the year of 1865 by the State of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Sainte Marie is located in Jasper County, 10 miles southeast of the county seat of Newton, approximately 30 miles southeast of Effingham, and around 15 miles north of Olney; the town is perched above the Embarras (pronounced "am-braw") River, a mostly gentle river that flows southeast into the Wabash River; and

WHEREAS, Sainte Marie, population 250, was founded in 1837 by Joseph Picquet and his "Compane des freres" (Company of Brothers), 25 relatives and friends from Alsace/Lorraine, a part of Europe that belonged to either France or Germany, depending on who had won the latest battle; seeking new horizons, Joseph Picquet and his family bought 12,000 acres of land from the United States land office in Vincennes, Indiana, and worked to develop a prosperous community; and

WHEREAS, The devoutly Catholic Picquet family dedicated the town to the Blessed Virgin Mary and thus named it Sainte Marie; a large, imposing church, St. Mary of the Assumption, was built in the late 1800's, with parishioners firing their own massive supply of bricks; this church burned down after being struck by lightning in 1933, but the present church was rebuilt in 1935 using many of the original bricks; and

WHEREAS, Ste. Marie was a prosperous community through its early years, with businesses such as a flour mill, saw mill, general store, hardware, car and implement dealers, hotel, hospital, post office, and railroad station; when the railroad closed down, the town declined, with many children of its prosperous residents choosing to locate elsewhere when they reached adulthood; and

WHEREAS, Ste. Marie has remained a solid, charming little village, with such landmarks as a former novitiate for the Sacred Heart Missionaries (now the administrative offices of the South Eastern Special Education Office), a large grain elevator, a 110-year-old independent bank, solid small businesses, an active American Legion, and an emerging museum at the Sainte Marie Foundation House; and

WHEREAS, Sainte Marie is proud of the many individuals who grew up in and around this village and went on to other parts of the country and the world at large; these individuals include educators, nurses, engineers, accountants, lawyers, farmers, medical and science professionals, artists, musicians, military personnel, politicians, and other professional and business people who still consider Sainte Marie "home" - a testimonial to the lessons learned and the solid family structure that produced such fine citizens; and

WHEREAS, Sainte Marie citizens have always been willing and able to perform their patriotic duties; many men and women have served in the armed services, most notable being the late Major General E. Ray Ochs, who attended West Point and commanded the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam; and

WHEREAS, Sainte Marie continues to be a viable, rural community at a time when small towns are declining and disappearing across the country; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the citizens of the Village of Sainte Marie on the occasion of the village's 175th anniversary and wish them continued success and happiness in the future; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Village of Sainte Marie as an expression of our esteem and respect.