A RESOLUTION to salute Jackson County upon the occasion of its 34th Annual Poke Sallet Festival, the oldest Poke Sallet Festival in the State of Tennessee. 

WHEREAS, when the first settlers reached the shores of this continent, among the new and wondrous flora they encountered was a representative of the populous family of plants, phytolaccaceae, the phytolacca Americana or common poke weed; and 

WHEREAS, the poke weed, or poke, or poke sallet, as it came to be called, from the Indian pakon, is common only in the sense of its ubiquitousness, and was prized by the first Americans for dye, food, and medicinal purposes; and 

WHEREAS, the early English-speaking settlers came to prize that noble herb, and nowhere more than in that salubrious region of North America which came to be known as Tennessee; and 

WHEREAS, Tennesseans, throughout their history, have responded to calls to duty with alacrity and have earned the title “Volunteer State”; and 

WHEREAS, the sagacity and physical vigor of Tennesseans result in no small part from the enviable abode granted them by the Creator and endowed with the bounty of nature and an abundance of natural resources; and 

WHEREAS, our founding fathers became proficient in recognizing the blessings of the land and knew Mayapple root from ginseng and bear meat from venison; and 

WHEREAS, this knowledge of natural lore and appreciation of the wild berries, herbs, and plants which can nourish men in the wilderness is a treasured part of our heritage as Tennesseans; and 

WHEREAS, in the spirit of our forefathers and out of respect for its many beneficial properties, we take the opportunity to recognize and bestow honor upon a lowly but royal Epicurean resident of our great State; now, therefore, 

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE SENATE CONCURRING, that we salute that great native delicacy, poke sallet or phytolacca Americana, esteemed upon the tables of the Southland, and especially in Tennessee, where it has grown in profuse abundance for centuries, and recognize Jackson County as the home of the oldest Poke Sallet Festival in the State. 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that out of respect for its gastronomic and medicinal properties and in appreciation of the people of Jackson County for recognizing them, we salute the 34th Annual Poke Sallet Festival to be held in that county May 10-13, 2012, and call upon all Tennesseans to join in that festive occasion. 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that an appropriate copy of this resolution be prepared for presentation with this final clause omitted from such copy

house joint resolution 642