FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, April 28, 2022
STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Thanks to a new partnership between the Texas Folklore Society and the William G. Pomeroy Foundation, Texas communities can now highlight their stories, customs and traditions via the Legends & Lore roadside marker grant program.
Tarleton State University and the College of Liberal and Fine Arts host the Texas Folklore Society.
The Pomeroy Foundation launched Legends & Lore in 2015. The Texas Folklore Society will evaluate grant applications to ensure the legitimacy of the folklore proposed for commemoration.
“The Texas Folklore Society is thrilled to partner with the Pomeroy Foundation on this program,” said Kristina Downs, Executive Director of the Texas Folklore Society. “As a large and diverse state, Texas has an especially rich and varied folk culture. The Legends & Lore program will enable local communities to showcase their traditions.”
The Pomeroy Foundation is a philanthropic organization based in Syracuse, N.Y. One of its main initiatives is to help communities celebrate their history with roadside markers. Since its beginnings in 2005, the foundation has awarded over 1,700 grants for markers and bronze plaques in 45 states.
“This is an exciting opportunity to highlight the Lone Star State’s folklore and legends with roadside markers,” said Deryn Pomeroy, Director of Strategic Initiatives at the foundation. “We look forward to working with the society to further recognize and put the spotlight on the diverse landscape of folk and traditional arts in Texas.”
More than 140 Legends & Lore marker grants have been awarded in Texas, Alabama, Connecticut, Idaho, Louisiana, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont and West Virginia. Applications must come through a local 501(c)(3) organization such as an historical society, nonprofit academic institution or local, state or federal government entity.
The next application deadlines are May 2 and Oct. 17. Legends & Lore grant funding includes the full cost of a marker, pole and shipping. More at https://www.wgpfoundation.org/history/legends-lore/.
The Texas Folklore Society is the second oldest folklore organization continually functioning in the United States, after the American Folklore Society founded in 1888. Chartered in 1909, The Texas Folklore Society held its first meeting at the University of Texas in 1911. The society has stimulated the recording and study of Texas’ rich folk culture, has attracted both laymen and scholars, and has distributed its publications throughout the world.
In addition to preserving community history, the Pomeroy Foundation works to improve the probability of finding donor matches or other life-saving treatments for blood cancer patients. To learn more, visit wgpfoundation.org.
A founding member of The Texas A&M System, Tarleton State is breaking records — in enrollment, research, scholarship, athletics, philanthropy and engagement — while transforming the lives of nearly 17,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Bryan and online. True to Tarleton’s values of excellence, integrity and respect, academic programs emphasize real world learning and address regional, state and national needs.