2018 -- S 2996

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LC005980

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2018

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

CELEBRATING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF FOGARTY

FARM IN GLOCESTER, RHODE ISLAND

     

     Introduced By: Senator Maryellen Goodwin

     Date Introduced: June 22, 2018

     Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration

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     WHEREAS, In May of 1918, John P. Fogarty, a bricklayer, and his wife Cora Whelan

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Fogarty and their five children, William, Margaret, John, T. Frank and Ray, left the bustling

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urban environs of Providence for the woods of Glocester, and in 1920 welcomed the 6th member

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of the family, the Honorable Charles Fogarty, who was born at the farm, served with distinction

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in the Rhode Island State Senate, and would be the father of two future Rhode Island State

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Senators; and

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     WHEREAS, Leaving a brick bungalow with all the comforts of civilization, including

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central heat, electricity and indoor plumbing, the Fogarty family found themselves now living in a

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farm house with no central heat, no electricity and no indoor plumbing, located on a dirt road

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which was to be their home; and

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     WHEREAS, As an Irish, Catholic and Democratic family now living in a solidly

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Yankee, Protestant, and Republican small town, they soon found that not everyone welcomed

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their arrival, as when the local Ku Klux Klan burned a cross at Fogarty Farm one Saturday night

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during the 1920’s; and

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     WHEREAS, The Fogarty family was undaunted. They persevered and expanded the farm

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and became actively involved in the community, helping to establish the Harmony Fire

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Department, the local Democratic Party and the Glocester Lions Club, among several

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organizations; and

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     WHEREAS, Although normally a reliably Republican town, the citizens of Glocester

 

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over the past one hundred years have elected four members of the Fogarty family to the Town

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Council, sent three members to the Rhode Island State Senate, one member to the Rhode Island

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House of Representatives, one member to serve as Lt. Governor of Rhode Island, and one

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member to serve in the United States Congress; and

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     WHEREAS, Throughout this distinguished history, Fogarty Farm has served as a

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gathering place for family, friends and people of all political persuasions and backgrounds at

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numerous parties, community events and celebrations; and

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     WHEREAS, Our colleague, the Honorable Senator Paul Fogarty, is the current steward

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of Fogarty Farm and his children are now the 4th generation to have lived there; and

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     WHEREAS, May of 2018 marks the centenary of the establishment of Fogarty Farm in

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Glocester; now, therefore be it

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     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

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hereby recognizes this milestone and momentous occasion and expresses its hope that Fogarty

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Farm will continue to thrive in the next one hundred years; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

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transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Honorable Paul W. Fogarty and Family.

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LC005980

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