HR0475 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0475 LRB097 12539 GRL 57023 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate the citizens of the Village of Lostant on the occasion of the village's 150th anniversary; and

WHEREAS, The Village of Lostant was founded in Hope Township in southern LaSalle County in 1861 during the first months of the Civil War; the village was originally named Ellsworth, in honor of Colonel Elmer Ellsworth, the first officer to be killed in the Civil War; the village was renamed Lostant in 1863 in honor of a stockholder of the Illinois Central Railroad; the village was formally incorporated in 1867; and

WHEREAS, Located at the intersection of the Illinois Central and New York Central Railroads, the Village of Lostant has served as an important grain shipping point for southwestern LaSalle County since its inception; and

WHEREAS, The Village of Lostant, with a population of 498, is representative of many small towns in rural Illinois; Lostant provides important services to southwest LaSalle County, including volunteer fire protection, volunteer ambulance service, a library, a school, a bank, a post office, a variety of farm services, and several small manufacturers; and

WHEREAS, Lostant has always provided an excellent educational opportunity for local residents; the village's first school was a one room school built in 1862; the village's first two-story school house was built in 1868; students in Lostant consistently match or exceed the performance of their peers around the State of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Lostant's residents have served their country in every war since the village's founding; the village's cemetery includes a veteran from the Spanish-American War and at least 14 veterans of the Civil War; American Legion Post 173 continues to serve the veterans of the area; and

WHEREAS, Lostant is the hometown of Air Force Colonel Milton Hartenbower, the 684th person to fly at Mach 2; Colonel Hartenbower served one tour in Korea and two tours in Vietnam, and helped design early remote control aircraft during his 27 years in the United States Air Force before retiring to his hometown; in addition, noted Chicago sculptor Laredo Taft favored clay mined in Lostant for his models; and

WHEREAS, The citizens of the Village of Lostant will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the village's founding in the summer of 2011; 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 Lostant on the occasion of the village's 150th 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 Fred Hartenbower, Mayor of the Village of Lostant, as a symbol of our esteem and respect.