The Texas Folklore Society has collected, presented, and preserved more folklore than any other similar society in the United States. It has brought to Texas and sent out from Texas some of the leading folklorists of the nation. The third volume of the Society’s history begins with the move from Wilson Hudson’s editorship at the University of Texas to F. E. Abernethy’s editorship at Stephen F. Austin State University. The three volumes of the Texas Folklore Society’s history were the result of Jack Duncan and John West requesting that all the Society’s programs be published in a volume. They wanted to know what folklore topics members had been interested in and talking about since the first TFS gathering in 1909. Abernethy set the TFS secretary to typing up all past TFS meeting programs and contents of Society publications.
Abernethy gathered information about the Society and soon had enough material to make a good entry for each year. Then Abernethy read Leonidas Payne’s description of the seminal meeting between Payne and John Lomax, which was so vivid that Abernethy was caught up in the social history of the times. These were the settings in which the meetings that Duncan and West were interested in took place. Abernethy also collected pictures and early illustrations to augment the writing. Thus the project turned into three volumes, with Volume I covering the years 1909–1943 and Volume II 1943–1971.
In 1999 the Society looked back on its ninety years and saw that it was still strong. It has met annually since 1909, except when interrupted by wartime. It has collected, presented, and preserved more folklore than any other similar society in the United States. It has amassed a list of publications in Texas folklore that compare favorably with collections throughout the United States. It has brought to Texas and sent out from Texas some of the leading folklorists of the nation. And large numbers of the Society’s members continue to gather annually to honor and enjoy the traditions of Texas.
