HR0200 LRB094 11637 HSS 43451 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the
3 State of Illinois wish to honor Floyd F. "Mike" Reed on the
4 occasion of his 86th birthday on March 26, 2005; and
 
5     WHEREAS, He was born on March 26, 1919, in Pine Creek
6 Township, Ogle County, Illinois, the sixth of 11 children of
7 Henry and Olive "Smice" Reed; he was nicknamed "Mike" at a very
8 early age, and that name has been with him all his life; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Mr. Reed enlisted in the U.S. Army on September 6,
10 1940, along with brothers Kenneth and Robert; they all served
11 in North Africa and Italy during World War II; he married
12 Gertrude C. "Unger" Reed on August 11, 1942, in Muskogee,
13 Oklahoma, prior to being shipped overseas; while serving in
14 World War II he was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart;
15 he was discharged in 1945 as a First Sergeant; and
 
16     WHEREAS, Following his discharge, he was hired as a
17 carpenter in the late 1940s at Northwestern Steel & Wire Co.
18 (NWS & W); when the family first moved to Sterling, they lived
19 in a railroad box car in an area that was nicknamed Silver
20 City; NWS & W had moved several hundred box cars onto mill
21 property as living quarters for the newly hired employees of
22 the expanding company; while living in the box car and working
23 at the mill, Mr. Reed was building a house in the rural
24 Sterling area, where he and his wife raised 3 children, Connie
25 L. Reed, David M. Reed, and Cindy R. Reed; he lived in this
26 house until his wife passed away in March of 1982; he retired
27 from the steel mill upon her passing; and
 
28     WHEREAS, In 1983, Mr. Reed sold his home and moved to
29 Thomson, where he still resides; he married Barbara J. "Gates"
30 Reed on March 29, 2003, in Thomson; and
 

 

 

HR0200 - 2 - LRB094 11637 HSS 43451 r

1     WHEREAS, He was always an avid fisherman and hunter until
2 his later years, when he had to give up hunting; he continues
3 to fish the Mississippi River every day, weather permitting; he
4 routinely catches many catfish, which he eats, and routinely
5 gives dressed fish to friends and neighbors; and
 
6     WHEREAS, During his younger years, Mr. Reed was a very
7 active volunteer member of the Illinois Clean Streams
8 Committee, Sterling Little League & Babe Ruth baseball, and the
9 Coleta Sportsmen's Club; therefore, be it
 
10     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
11 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
12 we congratulate Floyd F. "Mike" Reed on the occasion of his
13 86th birthday, and we wish him many more happy birthdays; and
14 be it further
 
15     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
16 presented to Mr. Reed as an expression of our respect and
17 esteem.