Full Text of HR1310 98th General Assembly
HR1310 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, For 160 years, the DeKalb Municipal Band has | 3 | | entertained the DeKalb community; the band holds the | 4 | | distinction of being the oldest continuous playing band in | 5 | | Illinois; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, A group of musicians returning from the California | 7 | | gold fields in 1854 formed the DeKalb Silver Comet Band; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, During the Civil War, many of the Band's musicians | 9 | | joined the military, but when they returned to DeKalb, they | 10 | | resumed the Band under the leadership of David and Daniel | 11 | | McCosh; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, In 1903, the Band accepted an invitation to become | 13 | | the band of the Third Regiment of the Illinois National Guard, | 14 | | a post the Band held until 1917; during this period, C.F. | 15 | | Toenniges served as director as the Band performed at Huntley | 16 | | Park and occasionally at Liberty Park and Unity Park; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, In the "Roaring Twenties", C.H. Palmer, manager of | 18 | | the Band, kept the Band from bankruptcy by raising money to | 19 | | support the band through fundraisers and contributions from | 20 | | local businesses; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, In 1925, C.H. Palmer took the initiative to lobby | 2 | | the General Assembly to create a municipal band tax, which | 3 | | passed into law in 1926; DeKalb became the first community to | 4 | | take advantage of the taxing authority; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, During the 1930s, Hopkins Park was built in DeKalb | 6 | | with the help of the Works Projects Administration and the band | 7 | | moved its weekly concerts from neighborhood parks to Hopkins | 8 | | Park, where it remains today; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, In 1948, Dee Palmer, son of C.H. Palmer, assumed | 10 | | the directorship of the Band and held regular Tuesday evening | 11 | | concerts from June through mid-August; Dee served as director | 12 | | for 63 years; in appreciation of his service, the band shell | 13 | | was renamed the Dee Palmer Band Shell in the 1980s and a bronze | 14 | | statue of him directing the band was erected in 2010; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, The DeKalb Municipal Band consists of 60 local | 16 | | residents, school teachers, college music majors, former | 17 | | members of United States Military Bands, and several | 18 | | professional musicians; the Band has been under the leadership | 19 | | of only 4 directors from the community, 3 of them from the | 20 | | Palmer family and the current Director, Kirk Lundbeck, who has | 21 | | been a member of the Band for 35 years; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, The DeKalb Municipal Band has created a reason for |
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| 1 | | the people of DeKalb to gather to enjoy each other's company, | 2 | | the summer evenings, and the joyous sounds of the band; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, The DeKalb Municipal Band plans to present a gala | 4 | | holiday concert on December 13, 2014 in honor of its 160th | 5 | | season and the continuous support of the DeKalb community; | 6 | | therefore, be it
| 7 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 8 | | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 9 | | we congratulate the members of the DeKalb Municipal Band on | 10 | | their long standing tradition of entertainment and the Band's | 11 | | status as the oldest continuous playing band in the State of | 12 | | Illinois; and be it further
| 13 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 14 | | presented to the City of DeKalb and the DeKalb Municipal Band | 15 | | as a symbol of our esteem and respect.
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