TITLE: Honoring Norma Frances "Tootsie" Tomanetz for her achievements as a barbecue pit master.

SUMMARY: Honoring Norma Frances "Tootsie" Tomanetz for her achievements as a barbecue pit master.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, Norma Frances "Tootsie" Tomanetz has entered the pantheon of Texas barbecue legends as the pit master of Snow's BBQ in Lexington; and WHEREAS, A veteran with a half century of barbecuing experience, Tootsie Tomanetz began learning the craft in 1966, when she was 31 years old; her husband, Edward Tomanetz, worked for City Meat Market in Giddings, and when one of the barbecue cooks failed to show up one day, the market's owner, Hershel Doyle, asked Mrs. Tomanetz to step in; in the years that followed, she was tutored by legendary pit master Orange Holloway; and WHEREAS, A decade later, Mr. Doyle bought a meat market in Lexington and asked Mrs. Tomanetz to run it, and the following year, she and her husband bought the business; while Mr. Tomanetz ran the family farm, Mrs. Tomanetz operated the meat market, and she began smoking and selling barbecue every Saturday morning as a sideline, steadily building an impressive local reputation for her delicious fare; and WHEREAS, When her husband became ill in 1996, Mrs. Tomanetz sold the business that she had run for 20 years in order to care for him; after Mr. Tomanetz recovered, she began barbecuing again every Saturday morning for the meat market's new owners, who named the business Always Tootsie's in her honor; and WHEREAS, In March 2003, Mrs. Tomanetz was recruited by Kerry Bexley to serve as pit master at a new Lexington business, Snow's BBQ; though open only on Saturday from 8 a.m. until the meat runs out, Snow's soon became widely renowned, and it was named the best barbecue joint in the state by Texas Monthly in 2008 and again in 2017; feature stories in the New Yorker and numerous other media outlets have added to Mrs. Tomanetz's fame, and she has become one of the best-known barbecue cooks in the world; in 2018, she was a semifinalist for the prestigious James Beard Award; and WHEREAS, Every Saturday, this remarkable Texan still arrives at Snow's at 2 a.m. and starts heating the pits and preparing the meat; drawn by her reputation, barbecue aficionados from miles around congregate each weekend in Lexington, where they wait in line for as long as two hours to sample the world-class brisket, sausage, pork, turkey, and chicken, and to share a few words with Mrs. Tomanetz; and WHEREAS, The barbecue pit master is an iconic figure in the history and culture of the Lone Star State, and Tootsie Tomanetz has become one of the best and most celebrated practitioners of this proud tradition; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas Legislature hereby honor Norma Frances "Tootsie" Tomanetz for her exceptional achievements as a barbecue pit master and extend to her sincere best wishes for continued success; and, be it further RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for Mrs. Tomanetz as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives. Cyrier Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 706 was adopted by the House on March 19, 2019, by a non-record vote. Chief Clerk of the House