MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2000 Regular Session

To: Rules

By: Senator(s) Chaney, Posey, King, Canon, White (29th), Tollison, Williamson, Johnson (19th)

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION CONGRATULATING THE CITY OF VICKSBURG, MISSISSIPPI, UPON THE OCCASION OF ITS 175TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION.

WHEREAS, Vicksburg, Mississippi, has long been a place that holds the key to many hearts; and

WHEREAS, commemorating 175 years of the date of the charter of this great city by the Mississippi Legislature is a remarkable way to leap into the new millennium; and

WHEREAS, from the founding of Vicksburg by the Methodist minister, Reverend Newet Vick in 1819, dreams and visions have sailed Vicksburg to the heights we know today; and

WHEREAS, Vicksburg was born of the river -- the mighty Mississippi River gave birth to this fertile land by bringing in the French in 1698 to start Fort St. Pierre, the Spanish with the naming of the bluffs "Nogales," and the British renaming the rolling hills to "Walnut Hills"; and

WHEREAS, the "floating wedding cakes" or steamboats, as Mark Twain called them, established Vicksburg among the cultured cities of the South; and

WHEREAS, in 1863, Vicksburg kept a rendezvous with history, her spirit in the War Between the States cost a high price, and it left forever a history that will survive all time -- war can destroy everything but the spirit within people; and

WHEREAS, from the ruins and from the ashes, Vicksburg rebuilt and entered the era of the New South, and today boasts a city established with the help of God and the vision of remarkable people -- the recollection of what was and always will be is astonishing and miraculous to this great city and state; and

WHEREAS, in 175 more years Vicksburg will still be great, this celebration only marking the beginning of great things to come, and it is with great civic pride that we commemorate this event with one of Mississippi's most famous cities:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby congratulate the City of Vicksburg, Mississippi, on the occasion of its septaquintaquinquecentennial (175th) celebration, and we wish the citizens of this "spectacular" city 175 more years of greatness.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be presented to the Mayor and Commissioners of the City of Vicksburg and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.