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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The official 175th celebration of the founding of
3the Village of Sainte Marie will take place on June 29-30,
42012; Sainte Marie was officially chartered in the year of 1865
5by the State of Illinois; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Sainte Marie is located in Jasper County, 10 miles
7southeast of the county seat of Newton, approximately 30 miles
8southeast of Effingham, and around 15 miles north of Olney; the
9town is perched above the Embarras (pronounced "am-braw")
10River, a mostly gentle river that flows southeast into the
11Wabash River; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Sainte Marie, population 250, was founded in 1837
13by Joseph Picquet and his "Compane des freres" (Company of
14Brothers), 25 relatives and friends from Alsace/Lorraine, a
15part of Europe that belonged to either France or Germany,
16depending on who had won the latest battle; seeking new
17horizons, Joseph Picquet and his family bought 12,000 acres of
18land from the United States land office in Vincennes, Indiana,
19and worked to develop a prosperous community; and
 
20    WHEREAS, The devoutly Catholic Picquet family dedicated
21the town to the Blessed Virgin Mary and thus named it Sainte
22Marie; a large, imposing church, St. Mary of the Assumption,

 

 

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1was built in the late 1800's, with parishioners firing their
2own massive supply of bricks; this church burned down after
3being struck by lightning in 1933, but the present church was
4rebuilt in 1935 using many of the original bricks; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Ste. Marie was a prosperous community through its
6early years, with businesses such as a flour mill, saw mill,
7general store, hardware, car and implement dealers, hotel,
8hospital, post office, and railroad station; when the railroad
9closed down, the town declined, with many children of its
10prosperous residents choosing to locate elsewhere when they
11reached adulthood; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Ste. Marie has remained a solid, charming little
13village, with such landmarks as a former novitiate for the
14Sacred Heart Missionaries (now the administrative offices of
15the South Eastern Special Education Office), a large grain
16elevator, a 110-year-old independent bank, solid small
17businesses, an active American Legion, and an emerging museum
18at the Sainte Marie Foundation House; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Sainte Marie is proud of the many individuals who
20grew up in and around this village and went on to other parts
21of the country and the world at large; these individuals
22include educators, nurses, engineers, accountants, lawyers,
23farmers, medical and science professionals, artists,

 

 

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1musicians, military personnel, politicians, and other
2professional and business people who still consider Sainte
3Marie "home" - a testimonial to the lessons learned and the
4solid family structure that produced such fine citizens; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Sainte Marie citizens have always been willing and
6able to perform their patriotic duties; many men and women have
7served in the armed services, most notable being the late Major
8General E. Ray Ochs, who attended West Point and commanded the
9173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Sainte Marie continues to be a viable, rural
11community at a time when small towns are declining and
12disappearing across the country; therefore, be it
 
13    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
14NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
15we congratulate the citizens of the Village of Sainte Marie on
16the occasion of the village's 175th anniversary and wish them
17continued success and happiness in the future; and be it
18further
 
19    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
20presented to the Village of Sainte Marie as an expression of
21our esteem and respect.