Bill Text: TX HR706 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Honoring Norma Frances "Tootsie" Tomanetz for her achievements as a barbecue pit master.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-03-20 - Reported enrolled [HR706 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HR706-Enrolled.html
| H.R. No. 706 | ||
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| WHEREAS, Norma Frances "Tootsie" Tomanetz has entered the | ||
| pantheon of Texas barbecue legends as the pit master of Snow's BBQ | ||
| in Lexington; and | ||
| WHEREAS, A veteran with a half century of barbecuing | ||
| experience, Tootsie Tomanetz began learning the craft in 1966, when | ||
| she was 31 years old; her husband, Edward Tomanetz, worked for City | ||
| Meat Market in Giddings, and when one of the barbecue cooks failed | ||
| to show up one day, the market's owner, Hershel Doyle, asked | ||
| Mrs. Tomanetz to step in; in the years that followed, she was | ||
| tutored by legendary pit master Orange Holloway; and | ||
| WHEREAS, A decade later, Mr. Doyle bought a meat market in | ||
| Lexington and asked Mrs. Tomanetz to run it, and the following | ||
| year, she and her husband bought the business; while Mr. Tomanetz | ||
| ran the family farm, Mrs. Tomanetz operated the meat market, and | ||
| she began smoking and selling barbecue every Saturday morning as a | ||
| sideline, steadily building an impressive local reputation for her | ||
| delicious fare; and | ||
| WHEREAS, When her husband became ill in 1996, Mrs. Tomanetz | ||
| sold the business that she had run for 20 years in order to care for | ||
| him; after Mr. Tomanetz recovered, she began barbecuing again every | ||
| Saturday morning for the meat market's new owners, who named the | ||
| business Always Tootsie's in her honor; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In March 2003, Mrs. Tomanetz was recruited by Kerry | ||
| Bexley to serve as pit master at a new Lexington business, Snow's | ||
| BBQ; though open only on Saturday from 8 a.m. until the meat runs | ||
| out, Snow's soon became widely renowned, and it was named the best | ||
| barbecue joint in the state by Texas Monthly in 2008 and again in | ||
| 2017; feature stories in the New Yorker and numerous other media | ||
| outlets have added to Mrs. Tomanetz's fame, and she has become one | ||
| of the best-known barbecue cooks in the world; in 2018, she was a | ||
| semifinalist for the prestigious James Beard Award; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Every Saturday, this remarkable Texan still arrives | ||
| at Snow's at 2 a.m. and starts heating the pits and preparing the | ||
| meat; drawn by her reputation, barbecue aficionados from miles | ||
| around congregate each weekend in Lexington, where they wait in | ||
| line for as long as two hours to sample the world-class brisket, | ||
| sausage, pork, turkey, and chicken, and to share a few words with | ||
| Mrs. Tomanetz; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The barbecue pit master is an iconic figure in the | ||
| history and culture of the Lone Star State, and Tootsie Tomanetz has | ||
| become one of the best and most celebrated practitioners of this | ||
| proud tradition; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas | ||
| Legislature hereby honor Norma Frances "Tootsie" Tomanetz for her | ||
| exceptional achievements as a barbecue pit master and extend to her | ||
| sincere best wishes for continued success; and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
| prepared for Mrs. Tomanetz as an expression of high regard by the | ||
| Texas House of Representatives. | ||
| Cyrier | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Speaker of the House | ||
| I certify that H.R. No. 706 was adopted by the House on March | ||
| 19, 2019, by a non-record vote. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
