HR0859 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0859 LRB095 14858 GRL 40799 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Melvin R. Holden served in the United States Army during World War II; he was sent to the European theater in 1942; he served in England prior to the D-Day invasion of Normandy; after the invasion, he searched for suspected poisonous gas rumored to be hidden throughout the European continent; he returned to the United States on December 26, 1945; and

WHEREAS, Mauck Lane and its bridge has a great significance to Melvin R. Holden and his family; the road was named after Mr. Holden's grandfather, who bought the street as a road to the coal mine he worked in; his mother gave birth to him on an acre of land that now holds the middle of the Mauck Lane bridge; he built a home on Mauck Lane in 1957, where he raised his 5 children; and

WHEREAS, During construction of the Mauck Lane bridge, Melvin R. Holden assisted the bridge workers by providing lunch spots under a maple tree and drinks from the house's well; after construction was completed, he would regularly pick up trash on the road during his walks; and

WHEREAS, After Melvin R. Holden retired from Central Foundry in 1976, he moved to San Diego; despite the great distance, he returned often to visit his relatives who lived on Mauck Lane; and

WHEREAS, Melvin R. Holden's dedication, both to his country as a soldier and to his fellow citizens as a steward of the Mauck Lane bridge, should be commended and praised in the highest fashion; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Mauck Lane bridge over Interstate 74, west of Danville in Vermilion County, be designated the Melvin R. Holden Mauck Lane Bridge; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Transportation is requested to erect at suitable locations, consistent with State and federal regulations, appropriate plaques or signs giving notice of the name; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation; the Secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation; and the Vermilion County Board.