MUMENTOUS

Original Photos and Mostly-True Stories about Football,

Glue Guns, Moms, and a Supersized High School Tradition

That Was Born Deep in the Heart of Texas

by

Amy J. Schultz

Nonfiction / Photo-Driven Memoir / Women’s History / Pop Culture / Texana

Publisher: Atmosphere Press

Page Count: 178 pages

Publication Date: April 25, 2023

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The closest you’ll ever get to seeing someone actually wear their heart on their sleeve is in Texas, every fall, at the local high school homecoming game.

They’re called homecoming mums. They are as bodacious as football, as irresistible as a juicy rumor, and as deep as a momma’s love. Over a hundred years ago when the custom began, mum was short for chrysanthemum, a typical corsage that boys gave to girls before taking them to the big football game. But through the decades, mum went from a simple abbreviation to a complicated shorthand for an eye-popping tradition that’s as ingrained in the culture as it is confounding to outsiders.

Through her original photography and collection of stories from across and beyond the Lone Star State, Amy J. Schultz takes us deep in the heart of mum country. You’ll meet kids who wear them, parents who buy them, and critics who decry them as just another example of consumerism gone wild. But mostly, you’ll discover that just like every ritual which stands the test of time, someone is keeping the tradition alive. Someone like Mom.

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I have been waiting for this book ever since the author had a Mum exhibit in Arlington at a local museum. Attending high school in Texas, I am very familiar with the Mum tradition. However, this was some 40 years ago, and mums in those days were NOTHING as I see now. I am sure you see stories on the news channels highlighting how much bigger and bolder they have become. In fact, I saw this meme, and it is almost scarily true.

Despite the newsworthiness of the Texas mum, this book shares with us a history of how it came to be, stories from moms, students, and more. This book is chockful of stories, old and new, men and women, and their stories of homecoming and mums. You might have your own mum story to share. And you can do so at the back of this book on one of the several blank pages. I might just have to see if I can find any photos from high school during this time.  I will say that my mum came from the local florist since DYI was not big at that time. Or it was just getting started. This was the mid-80s. Or it might have just been the small town we lived in at the time. Mums were also a reasonable size and didn’t require more than a few pins to hold them on.

But more than anything, this book is about traditions and how it brings mothers and daughters together over a shared project. While I don’t think any other state will ever have mums to the proportions that are here in Texas…because everything is bigger in Texas…it does make one take notice. It may seem crazy, but what a wonderful crazy ride to be on.

Pick up the book, enjoy the stories, marvel over the photographs, and perhaps relive a few of your own memories. Or maybe they are your child’s memories. Either way, this book is a memory book for all to see.

We give this book 5 paws up.

Amy J. Schultz is an author and award-winning photographer who explores unique aspects of modern culture that hide in plain sight. When she isn’t talking about homecoming mums, Amy is writing, taking photos, working on other creative projects, traveling, snort-laughing, or vacuuming up dog fur.

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TWO WINNERS:

First Prize: signed hardback copy + enamel pin; Second Prize: eBook + enamel pin

(US only; ends midnight, CST, 9/8/23)

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