[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 73 (Wednesday, May 22, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E725]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                THEY GOT TO TEXAS AS FAST AS THEY COULD

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 22, 2013

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, from the establishment of our great 
State, people have traveled from all over the world to come to Texas 
either to live, to work or to visit. Before Texas was a state, some 
even came to fight for us. Many of the soldiers that fought in the 
battle at the Alamo were from different states and even a few 
countries. The diversity of people that have traveled to the state 
since the 1800's has contributed to its vast culture. That has made 
Texas what it is today.
  Today, Texas' diversity is expansive and includes the contributions 
of many different cultures that help make Texas' own culture that much 
more unique. From the numerous Vietnamese Pho restaurants in downtown 
Houston to the German Karbach Brewery in North Houston, the global 
influence on Houston's culture is immense.
  The Houston Chronicle recently reported about a Houston historian who 
focused on determining how streets in Houston-area communities received 
their names. Many settlers provided the names for not only cities and 
counties but for streets in local communities as well. Spring Branch, a 
community in the Second Congressional District of Texas, had several 
streets named after early immigrant settlers from Germany. Most of the 
early settlers were German farmers who came to the United States in 
pursuit of prosperity and to have land to farm. The City of Houston was 
named after the great Sam Houston, who was of Scots-Irish descent and 
originally from Virginia. The county that encompasses Houston, Harris 
County, was named after John Richardson Harris, a settler who came to 
Texas from New York by way of Missouri.
  As the saying goes, if you weren't born in Texas, you got there as 
fast as you could.
  People from around the world continue to hang a ``Gone to Texas'' 
sign on their front door. Our Texas pride comes from our rich history, 
a history that was built by the contributions of many local heroes and 
leaders who simply got to Texas as fast as they could. And that's just 
the way it is.

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