WHEREAS, Dr. Walter Clore was born on July 1, 1911, and grew up in Oklahoma during Prohibition; and
     WHEREAS, Dr. Clore was raised to be a teetotaler yet wound up being known as the "Father of Washington Wine"; and
     WHEREAS, Dr. Clore arrived at then-Washington State College in 1934 on a $500 fellowship, one of the best educational investments ever made in Washington history; and
     WHEREAS, In 1937, Dr. Clore was appointed as assistant horticulturist at the college, thus beginning a very long and productive career in which he worked with tree fruits and small fruits, including grapes; and
     WHEREAS, Dr. Clore did extensive research on what kinds of premium wine grapes would grow well in certain areas of Washington, irrigation techniques, and how to help grape vines survive bitter freezes that hit Washington periodically; and
     WHEREAS, Dr. Clore had the wisdom and foresight to envision Washington, particularly the Columbia Valley, as one of the best wine-making regions in the world when others said it was not possible; and
     WHEREAS, In the early 1970s, Dr. Clore helped Washington wine grape growers survive and thrive after the state allowed the sale of fine California wines; and
     WHEREAS, Dr. Clore retired in 1976, but continued to consult wine grape growers for years afterward, helping set Washington's wine industry on a course that would allow it to become a world-renowned wine-producing region, a key economic force with a $2.4 billion impact on the state, and the second largest in the nation behind California; and
     WHEREAS, The WSU Foundation in 1993 established the Walter J. Clore Scholarship Endowment to provide scholarships to full-time undergraduate students at WSU who are interested in studying grape production, processing, or marketing; and
     WHEREAS, Plans are now being made to build a $6 million Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center in Prosser; and
     WHEREAS, Dr. Clore died on January 28, 2003, in a Yakima nursing home;
     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives hereby honor the life and accomplishments of Dr. Walter Clore, the "Father of Washington Wine"; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be immediately transmitted by the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives to the family of Dr. Walter Clore.