HR1273 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1273 LRB094 20418 HSS 58590 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Village of Malta will celebrate its Sesquicentennial on June 10-11, 2006; and

WHEREAS, The town was settled upon the fertile, billowy prairie, without the usual benefits of groves or streams to attract early settlers; Ezekiel Whitehead commenced farming operations in the area in 1851 and was soon joined by land speculators; and

WHEREAS, When the Galena Railroad Company built a branch line through the town in 1854 and established a station to load farm produce, the town grew rapidly; it was recognized as a village in 1856; and

WHEREAS, A fire from a kerosene lamp nearly consumed the town in 1894; homes and stores were rebuilt using brick rather than wood materials, and citizens voted to build a large barrel cistern at the fire station in 1899 and pipe water to hydrants and homes throughout the town; and

WHEREAS, The Malta Women's Club with their philosophy of "a better Malta" opened the first library which they maintained in different locations until the present building was constructed with donations of money and land; and

WHEREAS, Malta was renown for its municipal band and holiday parades; passenger trains would bring thousands of people from across Northern Illinois to Malta for Fourth of July and other celebrations; and

WHEREAS, As the nation began to manufacture millions of cars and trucks at the start of the twentieth century, a transcontinental highway was planned; Congress appropriated money for the "Lincoln Highway" which would run through Malta; and

WHEREAS, Education has always been important to the community; a one-room school house gave way to a two-room building, a consolidated school complex, and then a separate high school structure; when the Malta District was consolidated with the communities of DeKalb and Cortland, the Paul T. Wright Elementary School in Malta was born as an experiment for educational and teaching excellence between the school district and Northern Illinois University; and

WHEREAS, The community has also been home to Kishwaukee Community College since 1968; the 120-acre campus attracts over 10,000 students to its programs; the college offers two-year degrees in 37 areas, 64 career/occupational degrees and certificates, and customized training; and

WHEREAS, Residents of Malta have long supported and taught at nearby Northern Illinois University since its founding in 1895; the university is noted for excellence in teaching, discovery and outreach; more than 25,000 students study there and nearly 200,000 alumni call NIU their alma mater; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the more than 1,400 residents of the Village and Township of Malta on the occasion of the sesquicentennial celebration; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Village of Malta as an expression of our esteem and with our best wishes for the continuing success of the village.