Allen D. Fisher REPORTER
Meridian Parks and Recreation are asking for volunteers to help put the final touches on the newlynamed John A. Lomax Amphitheater tomorrow.
Volunteers put down sods of grass Tuesday last week between rain spouts and will be laying down the final pieces tomorrow.
“I would like to thank everyone who has volunteered their time and effort to making this a reality,” said Meridian Parks and Recreation member Jack Cameron at city council meeting Monday.
Meridian City Council approved the John A. Lomax naming at the meeting.
According to the Library of Congress, John Avery Lomax was born in Goodman, Mississippi in 1867, and grew up on the Texas frontier, just north of Meridian in rural Bosque County where he was exposed to cowboys songs as a child.
Lomax became an American teacher, a pioneering musicologist, and a folklorist who did much for the preservation of American folk music.
He passed the love of country music to his children and grandchildren, who continued much of his work and are still in the music business today.
“In 1907, he went to Harvard and was awarded a Sheldon Grant to research and collect cowboy songs,”
said Cameron to council.
“‘Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads’ was published 1910 to popular acclaim. His greatest achievement was more than 10,000 songs recorded of cowboy songs archived at the Library of Congress.”
Cameron got approval from the family through a letter from John A. Lomax, III, who is in the music business in Nashville.
The initial $50,000 cost for the Lomax Amphitheater came from the city but is to be reimbursed by the Meridian Economic Development Corporation that will pay back the funds via private donations.
The company that built the rock portion of the amphitheater through was Breaking New Ground Construction Services based out of Granberry.
Meridian Council also approved $4,000 for a tin horn for the driveway at the old jailhouse that would allow additional parking for the area. The bids for the tin horn will be planned from next year’s budget. There are additional plans
There are additional plans that have been discussed for additions for the park in the surrounding areas such as a splash pad, frisbee golf course and a pathway along the river and under the bridge to connect the two parks.
Cameron said he plans a dedication on September 19 with first concert to be the Meridian High School Band.