Bill Text: TX HR32 | 2023 | 88th Legislature 3rd Special Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commemorating the induction of the Beckendorff-Sword Home Place into the Texas Department of Agriculture Family Land Heritage Program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-11-02 - Reported enrolled [HR32 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HR32-Enrolled.html
| H.R. No. 32 | ||
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| WHEREAS, Family farms and ranches are vital to the economic | ||
| and cultural prosperity of the Lone Star State, and the | ||
| Beckendorff-Sword Home Place of Harris County is being recognized | ||
| for its role in this proud tradition with its induction into the | ||
| Family Land Heritage Program on October 18, 2023, at a ceremony at | ||
| the State Capitol; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Sponsored by the Texas Department of Agriculture, | ||
| the program honors farms and ranches that have been in continuous | ||
| agricultural operation by the same family for a century or more; | ||
| since 1974, TDA has recognized over 5,000 families whose proud | ||
| Texas legacy has passed from generation to generation and who have | ||
| served as dedicated stewards of their land; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The Beckendorff-Sword Home Place traces its origins | ||
| to April 1922, when Maggie Davis Mansell purchased 160 acres in | ||
| Harris County; she and her husband, Richard A. Mansell, were the | ||
| parents of seven children, William Aaron, Robert E. Lee, Bonnie | ||
| Mae, Jessie, M. L., Richard Davis, and Richard Guy, and they raised | ||
| swine and peanuts on their land; on December 12, 1940, the Mansell | ||
| farm was struck by a tornado; tragically, Mrs. Mansell's husband | ||
| was killed in the incident, and she was seriously injured; in 1967, | ||
| the property was divided among her children, and Jessie Beckendorff | ||
| and her husband, Roy, began farming some 32 acres; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In 1973, Mrs. Beckendorff's children, Leland, | ||
| Richard, and Ruby, inherited the land; three years later, Richard | ||
| Beckendorff traded his third of the property to his children, Kay | ||
| Beckendorff Sword and Randall Beckendorff, who harvested rice and | ||
| soybean crops before transitioning to hay and cattle production; | ||
| today, the Katy-area farm continues on under the ownership of | ||
| Ms. Beckendorff Sword, great-granddaughter of founder Maggie Davis | ||
| Mansell, who oversees a hay operation; and | ||
| WHEREAS, For more than 100 years, the Beckendorff-Sword Home | ||
| Place has played an important role in Harris County while helping to | ||
| preserve the rich agricultural history of Texas, and it is indeed | ||
| fitting that Kay Beckendorff Sword and the members of her family be | ||
| recognized for their outstanding stewardship; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas | ||
| Legislature, 3rd Called Session, hereby commemorate the induction | ||
| of the Beckendorff-Sword Home Place into the Texas Department of | ||
| Agriculture Family Land Heritage Program and extend to all those | ||
| associated with the farm sincere best wishes for the future; and, be | ||
| it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
| prepared for Kay Beckendorff Sword as an expression of high regard | ||
| by the Texas House of Representatives. | ||
| Schofield | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Speaker of the House | ||
| I certify that H.R. No. 32 was adopted by the House on | ||
| November 1, 2023, by a non-record vote. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
