Glenn Truax

Born in Cherryvale, Kansas, in 1896 to Abraham Lincoln and Lucretia Belle (Hart) Truax, Alvah Glenn Truax became a famed musician and the creator of the Shamrock St. Patrick's Day Festival. A talented violinist from childhood, he served in a military band during World War I, graduated from Kansas State Teachers College, and married Helen Brittain. He gained renown organizing school music departments and bands, and during the Depression parents often paid him with barter instead of cash. In 1935, the City of Shamrock hired him to direct a municipal band, and after arriving he was astonished that the city had no festival celebrating Irish heritage despite its extremely Irish name. Working with the booster club, he helped stage the first annual St. Patrick's Day Festival in 1938, with a parade, boxing matches, football game, lecture on Irish history, and the crowning of the first Miss Irish Rose; twelve thousand people attended. The celebration continued yearly, drawing tens of thousands, and the Texas Legislature later designated the Shamrock St. Patrick's Day Festival as the official Texas celebration of the holiday. In 1940, Glenn Truax left Shamrock to direct Perryton's Ranger Band, later earned a master's degree, served as president of the North Texas Band and Orchestra Association, and then directed the West Texas State College band. Although he attempted to retire in 1949, his love of music repeatedly drew him back to direct bands and music departments in Panhandle towns including Canyon, Groom, Gruver, and Morse. He died in 1968 in Wichita, Kansas, and was buried in Gruver in Hansford County.

Shamrock, Texas · United States