Virginia HR 679: Commending Eugene M. Scheel.

Bill Text

2024SPECIALSESSIONI
ENROLLED
HOUSERESOLUTIONNO.679
Commending Eugene M. Scheel.
Agreedtoby theHouseofDelegates,May13,2024
WHEREAS, for nearly 60 years, Eugene M. Scheel has preserved, protected, and chronicled the
history of greater Loudoun and Fauquier Counties through his hand-drawn cartography; and
WHEREAS, Eugene M. Scheel has written nine books on Virginia history as well as drawn more
than 50 detailed historical maps of the Commonwealth and other states and nations; and
WHEREAS, Eugene M. Scheel has seen his maps featured in countless journals, magazines, and
newspapers ranging from The Washington Post to National Geographic; and
WHEREAS, Eugene M. Scheel was born in the Bronx, New York, but has lived in the historic
village of Waterford since 1965; and
WHEREAS, Eugene M. Scheel graduated from Clark University with a bachelor's degree in
geography, graduated from the University of Virginia School of Architecture with a graduate degree in
planning, and graduated from Georgetown University with a graduate degree in American literature; and
WHEREAS, Eugene M. Scheel began his career with Rand McNally & Company in Chicago,
referred to as the "granddaddy of mapmaking," and spent nine years working for National Geographic;
and
WHEREAS, Eugene M. Scheel served the nation for eight years as a corporal in the United States
Marine Corps Reserves, earning a reputation for his uncanny sense of direction; and
WHEREAS, Eugene M. Scheel served the Commonwealth under Governor Linwood Holton's
administration, as well as his community as a member of the Loudoun County Planning Commission for
eight years; and
WHEREAS, Eugene M. Scheel has been commissioned to make maps for famous clients, including
Elizabeth Taylor, who commissioned him to make a map of Atoka Farm for her then husband, United
States Senator John Warner; and
WHEREAS, the Library of Congress holds 31 of Eugene M. Scheel's maps to preserve them for
posterity, and the curator of vault collections for the geography and maps division of the Library of
Congress has aptly described them as "great cartographic contributions to Virginia history"; and
WHEREAS, without Eugene Scheel's work, much of Loudoun County's history, the Commonwealth's
history, and the nation's history would have been forgotten; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That Eugene M. Scheel hereby be commended for a
lifetime of historical preservation work and service to the Commonwealth; and be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution
for presentation to Eugene M. Scheel as an expression of the House of Delegates' admiration for his
legacy of service and unrivaled cartography.
ENROLLED
HR679ER