HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 98-4728, by Representatives Dickerson, H. Sommers, Doumit, Hatfield, Dunn and McCune

    WHEREAS, The Fishermen's Festival will hold its 70th annual event in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood on Sunday, March 15, 1998; and

    WHEREAS, The Fishermen's Festival, as sponsored by Ballard's First Lutheran Church, carries on a centuries-old European tradition of blessing fishermen before their annual fishing journeys; and

    WHEREAS, The Fishermen's Festival will honor those brave fishermen who tragically lost their lives on the seas; and

    WHEREAS, Ever since the Army Corps of Engineers dredged Salmon Bay in 1916, commercial fishing in Ballard has greatly expanded, becoming an important economic resource for the state of Washington; and

    WHEREAS, Fish have played a significant role in the economic and cultural climate of our state;

    NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State House of Representatives pay tribute to the 1998 Fishermen's Festival and its bestowal of blessings upon fishermen and their families.

I hereby certify this to be a true and correct copy of

Resolution 4728 adopted by the House of Representatives

                March 11, 1998.

        ________________________________

         Timothy A. Martin, Chief Clerk