Bill Text: IN HCR0028 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Honoring Paul Dresser, who wrote "On the Banks of the Wabash Far Away".
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)
Status: (Passed) 2013-03-14 - Returned to the House [HCR0028 Detail]
Download: Indiana-2013-HCR0028-Introduced.html
RESOLUTION No. ________
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION honoring Paul Dresser.
_______________________, read first time and referred to Committee on
RESOLUTION
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION honoring Paul Dresser.
Whereas, Paul Dresser gave us, the citizens of Indiana, our
first official emblem: our state song;
Whereas, One hundred years ago, on March 14, 1913, the
68th General Assembly chose "On the Banks of the Wabash,
Far Away" written by Paul Dresser, as our state song;
Whereas, Paul Dresser, born Johann Paul Dreiser, Jr. in
Terre Haute on April 22, 1858, spent his youth near the
Wabash River, our state's most vital water resource and state
river;
Whereas, "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away"
brought Paul Dresser fame and financial reward that few
composers before him enjoyed, with a record 1,471 copies of
the song sold at one department store in a single day;
Whereas, The Songwriters Hall of Fame calls Paul Dresser
"One of the most important composers of the 1890's";
Whereas, Upon his death in 1906, Dresser's obituary in the
New York Daily News called him "the greatest of American
popular song writers" and after his death he was eulogized
as "the ballad maker of a nation";
Whereas, In 1967 the Indiana General Assembly designated Dresser's home in Terre Haute's Fairbanks Park as a state shrine and memorial, and the National Music
Council lists Dresser's home as "A Landmark of American
Music";
Whereas, "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" reflects
Paul Dresser's love for Indiana and reminds all who hear it
of the beauty of our state: Therefore,
SECTION 1. That the Indiana General Assembly remembers Paul
Dresser on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the selection of
"On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" as the state song.