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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives are
3 pleased to recognize significant milestones for communities of
4 our State; and
 
5     WHEREAS, The Village of Creston is celebrating its 150th
6 birthday on August 11, 2006; and
 
7     WHEREAS, In 1836, John Brodie, from Ohio, was the first
8 settler in the area known as Brodie's Grove, located north of
9 the present Village of Creston; and
 
10     WHEREAS, Benjamin Worden, Elias Snively, Henry Sharer, and
11 others from as far away as Canada and California began to
12 settle in the area; and
 
13     WHEREAS, As more land in the vicinity became occupied, a
14 village was founded and named Brodie's Grove; and
 
15     WHEREAS, In 1853-1854, the building of the Chicago and
16 Galena railroad brought even more settlers to the area; and
 
17     WHEREAS, The town of Dement was surveyed on July 11, 1855,
18 and in 1856 Dement Township became separated from Flagg
19 Township; and
 
20     WHEREAS, The name of the town of Dement was changed to
21 Creston when a stranger riding the train stepped off and
22 remarked about the little village on the crest of the hill; the
23 town's name was officially changed to Creston on August 11,
24 1869; and
 
25     WHEREAS, The Creston Opera House was built in 1875 by a
26 stock company; purchased in 1959 from Dement Township by the
27 Creston Booster Club, it has been the site of hundreds of

 

 

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1 events ranging from church services to medicine shows to family
2 reunions, as well as plays and musicals; it was also the home
3 of the first Creston-Dement Library; and
 
4     WHEREAS, The Creston Booster Club was organized in 1956 by
5 a group of men dedicated to the betterment of the community;
6 celebrating 50 years of existence this year, the Club has
7 financially helped all three churches in town, the grade
8 school, the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, 4-H, the library, and
9 various other organizations when help was needed; and
 
10     WHEREAS, The Creston-Dement Library was organized in 1985
11 as a volunteer, not-for-profit library; in 1989 the library was
12 named the Illinois State winner for Family Circle Magazine's
13 "Leaders of Readers" Award; on March 17, 1992, the residents of
14 Creston voted to approve the formation of a library district
15 which would provide taxes for library operation; at the same
16 time, the Creston-Dement Park District was formed; and
 
17     WHEREAS, The Creston Opera House Repertoire Nucleus
18 Conducting Off Broadway Scenarios (C.O.H.R.N. C.O.B.S.), a
19 community theater group, was organized in 1989; the group holds
20 an annual theatrical production to raise money for the
21 continuation of the Opera House and donations to the Booster
22 Club; and
 
23     WHEREAS, Creston Grade School continually boasts high test
24 scores on mandatory State tests, and the town is proud to keep
25 its small school atmosphere and individualized attention for
26 students; in the Rockford Register Star's Sunday, March 9, 2003
27 edition, the school was applauded as having top ISAT scores,
28 which were 23 points higher than the statewide average; and
 
29     WHEREAS, In 1994, Creston was voted "Best Little Town in
30 America" by the Jack Daniels Corporation; the village is now in
31 the process of renovating the Opera House and improving the

 

 

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1 downtown merchant area; therefore, be it
 
2     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
3 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
4 we proclaim August 11, 2006, as the Village of Creston's 150th
5 birthday in the State of Illinois; and be it further
 
6     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
7 presented to the Village of Creston as an expression of our
8 esteem and with best wishes for a prosperous future.