Bill Text: IL HR0838 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Congratulates the citizens of the Village of Sainte Marie on the occasion of the village's 175th anniversary.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2012-03-06 - Resolution Adopted [HR0838 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2011-HR0838-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The official 175th celebration of the founding of | ||||||
3 | the Village of Sainte Marie will take place on June 29-30, | ||||||
4 | 2012; Sainte Marie was officially chartered in the year of 1865 | ||||||
5 | by the State of Illinois; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Sainte Marie is located in Jasper County, 10 miles | ||||||
7 | southeast of the county seat of Newton, approximately 30 miles | ||||||
8 | southeast of Effingham, and around 15 miles north of Olney; the | ||||||
9 | town is perched above the Embarras (pronounced "am-braw") | ||||||
10 | River, a mostly gentle river that flows southeast into the | ||||||
11 | Wabash River; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Sainte Marie, population 250, was founded in 1837 | ||||||
13 | by Joseph Picquet and his "Compane des freres" (Company of | ||||||
14 | Brothers), 25 relatives and friends from Alsace/Lorraine, a | ||||||
15 | part of Europe that belonged to either France or Germany, | ||||||
16 | depending on who had won the latest battle; seeking new | ||||||
17 | horizons, Joseph Picquet and his family bought 12,000 acres of | ||||||
18 | land from the United States land office in Vincennes, Indiana, | ||||||
19 | and worked to develop a prosperous community; and
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20 | WHEREAS, The devoutly Catholic Picquet family dedicated | ||||||
21 | the town to the Blessed Virgin Mary and thus named it Sainte | ||||||
22 | Marie; a large, imposing church, St. Mary of the Assumption, |
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1 | was built in the late 1800's, with parishioners firing their | ||||||
2 | own massive supply of bricks; this church burned down after | ||||||
3 | being struck by lightning in 1933, but the present church was | ||||||
4 | rebuilt in 1935 using many of the original bricks; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Ste. Marie was a prosperous community through its | ||||||
6 | early years, with businesses such as a flour mill, saw mill, | ||||||
7 | general store, hardware, car and implement dealers, hotel, | ||||||
8 | hospital, post office, and railroad station; when the railroad | ||||||
9 | closed down, the town declined, with many children of its | ||||||
10 | prosperous residents choosing to locate elsewhere when they | ||||||
11 | reached adulthood; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Ste. Marie has remained a solid, charming little | ||||||
13 | village, with such landmarks as a former novitiate for the | ||||||
14 | Sacred Heart Missionaries (now the administrative offices of | ||||||
15 | the South Eastern Special Education Office), a large grain | ||||||
16 | elevator, a 110-year-old independent bank, solid small | ||||||
17 | businesses, an active American Legion, and an emerging museum | ||||||
18 | at the Sainte Marie Foundation House; and
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19 | WHEREAS, Sainte Marie is proud of the many individuals who | ||||||
20 | grew up in and around this village and went on to other parts | ||||||
21 | of the country and the world at large; these individuals | ||||||
22 | include educators, nurses, engineers, accountants, lawyers, | ||||||
23 | farmers, medical and science professionals, artists, |
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1 | musicians, military personnel, politicians, and other | ||||||
2 | professional and business people who still consider Sainte | ||||||
3 | Marie "home" - a testimonial to the lessons learned and the | ||||||
4 | solid family structure that produced such fine citizens; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Sainte Marie citizens have always been willing and | ||||||
6 | able to perform their patriotic duties; many men and women have | ||||||
7 | served in the armed services, most notable being the late Major | ||||||
8 | General E. Ray Ochs, who attended West Point and commanded the | ||||||
9 | 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Sainte Marie continues to be a viable, rural | ||||||
11 | community at a time when small towns are declining and | ||||||
12 | disappearing across the country; therefore, be it
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13 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
14 | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
15 | we congratulate the citizens of the Village of Sainte Marie on | ||||||
16 | the occasion of the village's 175th anniversary and wish them | ||||||
17 | continued success and happiness in the future; and be it | ||||||
18 | further
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19 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
20 | presented to the Village of Sainte Marie as an expression of | ||||||
21 | our esteem and respect.
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