The Trego County Historical Society will host “Kansas Legends and Folktales,” a presentation and discussion by Jim Hoy on Sunday, January 26, for the annual Kansas Day celebration.  The program will start at 2:00 p.m. at museum located at 128 N. 13th Street.  Members of the community are invited to attend the free program.  The program is made possible by Humanities Kansas.

Most Kansans are familiar with the stories of grasshoppers so big that cowboys could ride them, or summers so hot that corn popped in the field. Kansas is a place of big skies and tall tales, but these exaggerated narratives help us understand the character of our state and its people. This presentation will explore some of the many legends and folktales from around the state, and what they say about the communities that keep these stories alive.

An authority on the folklife of ranching, Jim Hoy is a professor of English and former director of the Center for Great Plains Studies at Emporia State University.  He has lectured internationally on the folklife of ranching and is the co-author of “Plains Folk,” a syndicated newspaper column. 

“Kansas Legends and Folktales” is part of Humanities Kansas's Movement of Ideas Speakers Bureau, featuring presentations and workshops designed to share stories that inspire, spark conversations that inform, and generate insights that strengthen civic engagement.

In addition to the presentation, the awards for the coloring contest will be presented to the top recipients from each of the classrooms in the first through fourth grades at the Trego Grade School.  This is the eighth year the Historical Society was sponsoring the program for the students.