Leonard Tate

poet laureate of Grundy County

Leonard Tate has long been considered the poet laureate of Grundy County. Tate was born in Beersheba Springs in 1912, and lived most of his life there until his passing in 1989. Ben Caldwell and Herschel Gower co-edited the collection of Tate's works titled All the Lost Octobers and Other Poems. The collection was published by the BSHS in 1990. Read more about the life of Leonard Tate here.

The BSHS established the Leonard Tate Scholarship, which is awarded annually to a local high school senior. The 2025 scholarship application is now available and the deadline for submission is April 15, 2025.
    Scholarship Overview      Scholarship Application

Grace Spicer was the 2024 Scholarship recipient.

Beersheba sculptor Jo Fassnacht has created a portrait bust of Leonard Tate - Details