Changes

In 1996, Formby told ''The Dallas Observer'' that much of the history of the early cowgirls has been lost over the previous decades. Six years after she started her museum, a Hereford couple donated a 6,000-square-foot house to hold her collection, which included a rare rhinestone hat worn by Patsy Montana (1908-1996), whose "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart" recording sold a million copies. She continued to add to the collection, but few visitors came to Hereford, and the museum faced financial failure. "We’d go for stretches, where for days on end, nobody would come," she told ''The Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' in a 2002 interview.<ref name=margaret/> Concerts and bake sales and renting out the building for social occasions did not bring the needed revenue. She then sought to move the museum to a larger city where a steady flow of tourists would visit the expanded array of exhibits. When new people took over operation of the museum, Formby's role declined: "It's kind of like having a child and having to give that child up. It's sad."<ref name=margaret/>​

In 1996, Formby told ''The Dallas Observer'' that much of the history of the early cowgirls has been lost over the previous decades. Six years after she started her museum, a Hereford couple donated a 6,000-square-foot house to hold her collection, which included a rare rhinestone hat worn by Patsy Montana (1908-1996), whose "I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart" recording sold a million copies. She continued to add to the collection, but few visitors came to Hereford, and the museum faced financial failure. "We’d go for stretches, where for days on end, nobody would come," she told ''The Fort Worth Star-Telegram'' in a 2002 interview.<ref name=margaret/> Concerts and bake sales and renting out the building for social occasions did not bring the needed revenue. She then sought to move the museum to a larger city where a steady flow of tourists would visit the expanded array of exhibits. When new people took over operation of the museum, Formby's role declined: "It's kind of like having a child and having to give that child up. It's sad."<ref name=margaret/>​

Conflict soon developed between Hereford and Fort Worth values in regard to the museum. The Hereford originators claim rude treatment and hurt feelings from the Fort Worth multimillionaire socialites who took over the museum. The relocation has since "bred a dust storm of conflict," referring to  a lawsuit that the new managers filed in Fort Worth [in 1996] against a well-liked [[New York City]] restaurateur who put Hereford's museum on the national map."<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.dallasobserver.com/1996-10-24/news/saddlesore/|title=Saddlesore: How Fort Worth's rhinestone socialites bushwacked the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame|publisher=''The Dallas Observer'' ([[Dallas]], Texas)|accessdate=December 21, 2009}}</ref>​

Conflict soon developed between Hereford and Fort Worth values in regard to the museum. The Hereford originators claim rude treatment and hurt feelings from the Fort Worth multimillionaire socialites who took over the museum. The relocation has since "bred a dust storm of conflict," referring to  a lawsuit that the new managers filed in Fort Worth [in 1996] against a well-liked [[New York City]] restaurateur who put Hereford's museum on the national map."<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.dallasobserver.com/1996-10-24/news/saddlesore/|title=Saddlesore: How Fort Worth's rhinestone socialites bushwacked the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame|publisher=''The Dallas Observer''|accessdate=November 18, 2019}}</ref>​

Formby was also active in local and state civic affairs, including the [[Chamber of Commerce]], the Kings Manor Methodist Home, and the American Cancer Society. In 1977, she was appointed to the Select Committee on Child Pornography: Its Related Causes and Control by the Texas House of Representatives. Serving with Formby on the panel was later Houston [[Mayor]] Bob Lanier (1925-2014) and former state Representative Claiborne Washington "Clay" Smothers, I (1935-2004), an [[African-American]] advocate for family values from [[Dallas]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/legeLeaders/members/chargesDisplay.cfm?cmteID=8410|title=Child Pornography: Its Related Causes and Control|publisher=Texas legislative Reference Library|accessdate=November 18, 2019}}</ref>​

Formby was also active in local and state civic affairs, including the [[Chamber of Commerce]], the Kings Manor Methodist Home, and the American Cancer Society. In 1977, she was appointed to the Select Committee on Child Pornography: Its Related Causes and Control by the Texas House of Representatives. Serving with Formby on the panel was later Houston [[Mayor]] Bob Lanier (1925-2014) and former state Representative Claiborne Washington "Clay" Smothers, I (1935-2004), an [[African-American]] advocate for family values from [[Dallas]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/legeLeaders/members/chargesDisplay.cfm?cmteID=8410|title=Child Pornography: Its Related Causes and Control|publisher=Texas legislative Reference Library|accessdate=November 18, 2019}}</ref>​