Legendary Texas Storyteller Tumbleweed Smith To Speak April 3 at Baylor

Media contact: Lori Fogleman, director of media communications, (254) 710-6275

Legendary Texas humorist and storyteller Tumbleweed Smith will bring "A Fun Texas Odyssey" to Baylor University's Mayborn Museum Complex at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 3. The event is free and open to the public and sponsored by the Institute for Oral History at Baylor.

In his 36 professional years, Tumbleweed Smith has interviewed some true Texas characters and assembled the largest private collection of oral history in the United States. As the creator and producer of "The Sound of Texas" - one of the longest running syndicated radio programs in Texas - Tumbleweed seeks fascinating people who embody the spirit of the Lone Star State and brings them into the homes and hearts of thousands.

"Tumbleweed Smith will offer a talk that is sure to provide good humor and a rich portrait of our state based on his near 40 years of work recording and showcasing Texas history," said Dr. Stephen M. Sloan, director of the Institute for Oral History and assistant history professor at Baylor.

Tumbleweed Smith was born Bob Lewis on June 11, 1935, in Waco, and grew up in Fort Worth. He earned his bachelor's degree in English from Baylor in 1957, and later received his master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. Though he has won multiple state, national and international awards, written two books and started a radio program that has been on the air for nearly four decades, Smith prefers to travel down small Texas roads and meet the characters and storytellers who live there. He then shares what he finds with audiences all over the country.

Tumbleweed's humorous presentations have been compared to a family reunion or a Texas neighborhood party. He is known for incorporating tape-recorded segments in a way that gets the audience involved with each story.

For more information, contact the Institute for Oral History at (254) 710-3437.

For more information on Tumbleweed Smith, visit www.tumbleweedsmith.com.