H.R. No. 2854

	R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, The 23rd annual Texas Scottish Festival & Highland
	Games are being held at Maverick Stadium on the campus of The
	University of Texas at Arlington, June 5 through 7, 2009; and
	WHEREAS, One of the largest Scottish gatherings in the
	country, this outstanding family event offers the public a chance
	to enjoy traditional Scottish music, dancing, food, and athletic
	competitions, as well as many other Scottish-themed activities; and
	WHEREAS, Scots and people of Scottish descent have long made
	notable contributions to the exploration and development of this
	state; in the early 1830s, naturalist Thomas Drummond, a native
	Scot, collected an extensive number of plant and animal specimens
	between the coast and the Edwards Plateau; his collections were
	later distributed internationally to a number of museums and other
	institutions; and
	WHEREAS, Among the first northern Europeans to settle in
	Texas, Scots and their descendants composed more than 40 percent of
	Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred and predominated among the
	more than 600 families in Robertson's Colony; other prominent
	Texans of Scottish ancestry included such heroes of the Texas
	Revolution as Sam Houston, David Crockett, and the empresario
	Sterling Clack Robertson, who signed both the Texas Declaration of
	Independence and the constitution of the Republic of Texas;
	moreover, four Scottish-born soldiers fought with the Texans at the
	Alamo, and one of them, John MacGregor, is reported to have rallied
	his comrades with his bagpipes during the siege; and
	WHEREAS, After Texas became a republic and then a state,
	Scots and their descendants continued to make their mark; some who
	achieved prominence were George Cupples, a physician, Jesse
	Chisholm, a frontier trader, interpreter, and trailblazer, and
	Edmund Duncan Montgomery, a scientist and philosopher; in addition,
	Scottish capitalists financed the establishment of vast cattle
	spreads and also the building of the present State Capitol, which
	was constructed with the help of Scottish stonemasons; and
	WHEREAS, Today, organizations around the state promote
	fellowship among Scottish Texans, as well as such popular
	traditions as Scottish dance and highland games; the state even has
	its own official plaid, the Texas Bluebonnet Tartan; and
	WHEREAS, Scots and their descendants have made an indelible
	imprint on the Lone Star State, and the Texas Scottish Festival &
	Highland Games provide a fitting opportunity to salute their myriad
	contributions; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas
	Legislature hereby recognize June 2009 as Scottish Heritage Month
	and commemorate the 23rd annual Texas Scottish Festival & Highland
	Games in Arlington.
	Branch
	______________________________
	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.R. No. 2854 was adopted by the House on June
	1, 2009, by a non-record vote.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House