About this book

The closest you'll ever get to seeing someone actually wear their hearts on their sleeves 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 mama'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, author and photographer 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.

Somebody like Mom.

What’s a mum?

Homecoming mums are a nearly 100-year old custom that is practiced in high schools across the southeastern United States, but ubiquitously in Texas. Through MUMENTOUS, author and award-winning photographer Amy J. Schultz goes beyond the sheer size of a typical mum (short for chrysanthemum) and focuses on the people who create, sell and wear — or don't wear — them; the history of mums; how moms/women are the driving forces behind the tradition; and where the tradition stands today.

MUMENTOUS the photography collection

What began as a series of photographs shot at one high school in North Texas, MUMENTOUS came into its own during and after Amy’s tenure as the inaugural Artist-in-Residence at the Arlington Museum of Art in Arlington, TX. Thanks to the no-holds-barred attitude of Museum staff, she deepened her exploration and understanding of the subject matter and ultimately developed a multi-media art exhibition entitled MUMENTOUS: The Upsizing of a Texas Tradition.

The AMA now represents Amy’s MUMENTOUS: The Upsizing of a Texas Tradition as a photography collection, which is available to museums and galleries interested in photography, pop culture, women’s studies, and Texas culture and history.

MUMENTOUS the book

After the conclusion of her Artist-in-Residency, Amy continued to meet people, learn, gather new material, and shoot photos until she developed her photography collection and manuscript into a book entitled, MUMENTOUS. The book was published in 2023 by Atmosphere Press.

MUMENTOUS the cultural heritage exhibit

In partnership with the Texas Lakes Trail, an initiative of the Texas Historic Commission, Amy’s research for MUMENTOUS the book has been adapted into a traveling heritage exhibit entitled, MUMENTOUS: Football, glue guns, moms, and a super-sized high school tradition born deep in the heart of Texas. The exhibit focuses on the evolution of high school football, homecoming, and mums in Texas. It also offers opportunities for conversations about the unique cultural, social, and economic factors that contribute to the Texas high school homecoming tradition.

Many of the photographs in the exhibit debuted at the Arlington Museum of Art during Amy’s tenure as Artist-in-Residence. Additional photographs are shared in partnership with the University of Texas at Arlington Libraries Special Collections in Arlington, TX.

Thank you

… to everyone who has and continues to support MUMENTOUS through your curiosity, enthusiasm, participation, and patronage. Thank you also to everyone who lent or donated a mum or garter to MUMENTOUS: The Upsizing of a Texas Tradition at the Arlington Museum of Art and/or the traveling exhibition.

A special thank you to everyone who shared your personal mum stories with me. Each of your experiences are yours alone, and yet are also part of shaping the nature and future of this tradition.

Sincerely,
Amy