A Pennington Family Christmas

The children of Hugh and Dee Pennington had a family tradition of gathering every Christmas Eve, a tradition continued today by their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The above photo was taken in 1973 at the home of Clarence and Tootsie Wardlaw and includes all of Hugh and Dee's children except for their son Frelon who was living in Washington D.C. and son Jessie who died in 1961. Pictured left to right, front row: Gaylord Pennington with his wife, Orva Rae Rutledge Pennington, and Vivian Pennington Bethay and her husband Johnny. Back row: Maxine Pennington Roberts with her husband, Phillip; my grandparents Fessie and Rebecca Davis Pennington; and Clara Nell "Tootsie" Pennington Wardlaw with her husband, Clarence. Today, only Aunt Tootsie and Aunt Maxine are still living. I'm looking forward to some of Aunt Tootsie's ham tonight at our Pennington gathering in Fulton.

Fessie and Beck dressed up and on their way to the Pennington Christmas party in 1973. The Pennington get-together usually included Christmas carols and bingo games and, of course, lots of good food. Seems everyone had their "specialty." Aunt Orva Rae always brought candied apples while Aunt Tootsie's potato salad and sauerkraut were regulars each Christmas. And everyone looked forward to Beck's coconut cake.