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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Each October, Americans of Polish ancestry |
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celebrate Polish American Heritage Month, and that observance |
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provides a fitting opportunity to take note of the many |
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contributions the Polish people have made to the history and |
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culture of the Lone Star State; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1818, Polish veterans of the Napoleonic Wars were |
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among the settlers who founded an early colony near Galveston, the |
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Champ d'Asile military camp; after the failure of the Polish |
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uprising against the Russian empire in 1830, other Polish veterans |
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came to America and took part in the Texas Revolution, including |
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Michael Debicki, Francis and Adolph Petrussewicz, John Kornicky, |
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and Joseph Schrusnecki, all of whom died at Goliad, and Felix |
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Wardzinski, who fought at San Jacinto; and |
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WHEREAS, In the 1850s, a Polish Franciscan priest named |
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Father Leopold Moczygemba, who was at that time serving parishes in |
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New Braunfels and Castroville, sent letters home that inspired some |
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100 Polish families to sail to Galveston aboard the Weser and settle |
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in Karnes County; here, the town of Panna Maria ("Virgin Mary") |
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became the first permanent Polish colony in the United States and |
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home to the nation's first Polish Catholic church and Polish |
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school; and |
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WHEREAS, During the Civil War, a Polish engineer, Valerian |
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Salkowski, designed the Confederate fortifications at Galveston, |
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and Joseph Cotulla, for whom the county seat of La Salle County is |
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named, served in the First Texas Cavalry of the Union Army; a new |
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wave of immigrants in the 1870s settled in Anderson, Brenham, |
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Bremond, and other towns, and a century later, as Poland's |
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Communist regime was failing, more Poles settled in major urban |
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areas of the state; and |
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WHEREAS, Poles have had a strong influence on the state's |
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arts and culture; the German-Polish artist Carl von Iwonski painted |
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Texas pioneers from the 1850s until the 1870s; Polish musicians |
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helped introduce the polka beat and the accordion that are an |
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integral part of Tex-Mex music, and the Fryderyk Chopin Society of |
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Texas and the Chopin Society of Houston have supported the |
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performance of Polish classical music in the state; moreover, such |
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distinctive Polish cuisine as kielbasa and pierogis are popular |
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items in many parts of the state and particularly at festivals held |
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in Brenham, Bremond, and other communities; and |
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WHEREAS, Thousands of Poles and people of Polish descent have |
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made Texas their home over the past two centuries, and the Lone Star |
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State has benefited immensely from their drive, passion, and |
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ingenuity; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
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Legislature hereby recognize October 2017 as Polish American |
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Heritage Month in Texas and honor the contributions of Poles and |
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people of Polish descent to our state. |