Search

This article deals with the activities of the Texas Folklore Society from 1957 to 1962. Hermes Nye was the society's president in 1957 and was in the midst of one of his most exciting folkloring times. The society's meeting was held in Dallas on April 12-13. The 1957 meeting was scheduled by tradition to meet in Austin. The meeting lasted for two days, only twelve papers were presented. A definite sign of the times was a resolution passed at the 1957 Dallas business meeting, which occurred in those early days of desegregation. The society's publication for 1957 was Madstones and Twisters, which did not come out until the spring of 1958 and caused a minor flap among the editors because of its tardiness. The extra book published by the society for 1958 was Américo Paredes' With His Pistol In His Hand published by Frank Wardlaw at The University of Texas Press. In 1959, the society's meeting was held on March 27 to 28 in Austin. The society's publication for 1959 was And Horns on the Toads. The program of the 1960 meeting consisted of two sessions of eleven papers.

This article presents the author's attempts to rectify the errors in the volume one of the Texas Folklore Society journal. I open this volume two of the journal with the errata sheet for volume one. Charles Hagelman pointed out on page 144 I referred to April 21 as Texas Independence Day instead of San Jacinto Day. Hagelman also thought that the picture of the western star labeled Wm. S. Hart looked like Buster Keaton. Wallis R. Sanborn II, student of Peggy Skagg who wrote a graduate paper on Walter Prescott Webb, showed me that Webb's first publication was Notes on the Folklore of Texas, published in The Journal of American Folklore. I had erroneously placed his first paper in PTFS I 1916. The errors are not the only ones contained in The Texas Folklore Society I, but they were blatant enough to be seen. I do sincerely thank those who wrote me about the mistakes in the text. I know that they did read the book. And that is all that a writer can ask.

This section presents a historical background of the Texas Folklore Society from 1934 to 1938. In 1934 the society had been working for collecting, preserving and presenting the traditions of Texas to those who would listen to it. It had published eleven books and had gathered for nineteen annual meetings. It was an influential cultural and academic organization. Byron Shipp, TFS treasurer, resigned and member Marcelle Lively Hamer had taken over on February 19, 1934. During the twenty-first annual session of the Texas Folk-Lore Society in Dallas, Texas on April 19, 1935, guests told some folk anecdote, gave a rhyme, recited a proverb or gave other folk business. Over fifty percent of the papers given at the 1935 meeting dealt with Negro or Mexican folklore.