Full Text of HR0403 101st General Assembly
HR0403 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to
congratulate the Kewanee Park District | 4 | | on the occasion of its 100th anniversary; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, The Kewanee Park District was founded in 1919 by
| 6 | | Kewanee resident and industrial magnate Emerit E. Baker; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Emerit E. Baker was born on April 10, 1855 on a | 8 | | rural
farm near Aurora; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, At the age of only 15, Emerit E. Baker left home
| 10 | | and went to work in Chicago for the Anderson Steamer and Heater
| 11 | | Company as an office boy; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Emerit E. Baker eventually moved to the
| 13 | | headquarters of the Anderson Steamer and Heater Company in | 14 | | Kewanee
and worked his way up, eventually becoming
a member of | 15 | | the board; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, When the Anderson Steamer and Heater Company sold | 17 | | its boiler business to focus on tubing, Emerit E.
Baker saw an | 18 | | opportunity and purchased the boiler company; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Emerit E. Baker became the president of the newly
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| 1 | | created Kewanee Boiler Company, which sold boilers all over the
| 2 | | world and even installed a Kewanee boiler in the Statue of
| 3 | | Liberty; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Emerit E. Baker was a noted leader and
| 5 | | philanthropist in the community of Kewanee; he helped
organize | 6 | | the local Rotary Club in 1917 and served as the village
| 7 | | president and even as a volunteer fire fighter; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, In 1919, Emerit E. Baker announced at a Chamber of
| 9 | | Commerce meeting that he would donate $50,000 toward a park
| 10 | | system if the people of Kewanee would pass a referendum to
| 11 | | establish a park system and match his donation by authorizing a
| 12 | | matching $50,000 in bonds; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, The bond was approved by the people, and Emerit E.
| 14 | | Baker was elected the first president of the Kewanee Park | 15 | | Board; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Five parks would ultimately become a part of the
| 17 | | Kewanee Park District, including Northeast Park, Chautauqua
| 18 | | Park, Windmont Park,
Liberty Park, and Baker Park, named after | 19 | | Emerit E. Baker; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, In 1924, Emerit E. Baker established a foundation, | 21 | | E.E. Baker
Incorporated, and funded it with $400,000 dollars in
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| 1 | | stocks and bonds in order to fund the Elks Crippled Children's
| 2 | | Clinic, the Kewanee Public Library, and the Kewanee Park
| 3 | | District; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, The Kewanee Park District's trust is worth nearly
| 5 | | $1.3 million today, a legacy of the generosity of Emerit E.
| 6 | | Baker; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Kewanee
| 8 | | Park District, the park district will host celebrations during
| 9 | | the course of the summer that include music and games; | 10 | | therefore, be it
| 11 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 12 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 13 | | we
congratulate the Kewanee Park District on the occasion of | 14 | | its
100th anniversary and celebrate the legacy of Emerit E.
| 15 | | Baker; and be it further
| 16 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 17 | | presented to the Kewanee Park Board of Commissioners as a | 18 | | symbol of our respect and esteem.
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