My Dad, Ralph Pennington

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Story and photo by Shelaine Pennington Wise

In 1956 Patrolman Ralph Pennington and his wife Dottie moved to Baldwyn to fulfill Ralph’s job assignment with the Mississippi Highway Patrol. They were both natives of Tishomingo County. Ralph thought that Baldwyn would be a short assignment but not was not to be the case. The community embraced the young couple and a love affair with the town was born.

After turbulent times with the civil right movements (James Meredith’s enrollment at Ole Miss) and a stint as Elvis’s bodyguard at the fair in Tupelo, Ralph bought the Ford dealership from Mr. Prather. He moved the dealership from its location in town (now the home of Farmers and Merchants Bank) to highway 45. He later sold the dealership to Kenneth Windham.

Ralph passed away in 1987 at the young age of 57. Up until his death he along with Simon Spight served as the voices of the Baldwyn Bearcats Football Team.

I remember when Ralph was assigned to Baldwyn. There was law enforcement on a smaller scale in the town, as we have discussed in other postings. The MHP cleverly thought this would give small communities a better access to more modern technology in crime prevention.

Ralph was issued a patrol car that would literally “outrun it’s shadow” – a 1956 Dodge Royal with police interceptor engine and suspension, and later a ’57 model Dodge with more power. No more were the Harkey boys gonna get away from Slim Weldon down US 45. Billy Frost took a cue too, and slowed his '56 Chevy convertible to a snail’s pace through town. No more was Constable Jim Strange gonna have to try to catch anyone in his smoking (literally) ’48 Chevy 4-door family sedan.

In the photo, I recall the patrolman on the left but his name escapes me. I think it was Duggar. I was going to challenge everyone to guess who the person in the center is, but Shelaine gave it away. The photo was most likely made at the Miss-Ala Fair and Dairy Show evening (not afternoon) concert in September 1956, according to the suit Elvis is wearing.

-Carl Houston

"Our Home" Hotel - Steam Heated and Air Cooled

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by Dr. Henry Outlaw

From the Baldwyn News dated May 7, 1970 after fire completely destroyed the hotel:

Just when the hotel was erected is a matter of conjecture. Some reported it was built in 1898. However, Mrs. Tom (Lavada) Gower tells us that the hotel was already constructed when her mother was married in December of 1885. In fact she tells that her mother always related to her that the trees near the hotel were planted or transplanted on her wedding day. She further adds that there were three Walker girls who had hands in the the hotel. First, Miss Hattie Walker, Miss Mannie Walker and Miss Laurie Walker.

Regardless of the age of the hotel, it was a familiar landmark to the people of this area for many years. During its heyday it was a mecca for traveling salesman, drummers and peddlers who traveled by train in the horse and buggy days to peddle their wares. Many came for miles to stay at this hostelry and travel to Kirkville, Pratt, Bethany, Jericho, Geeville, Wheeler and other communities to sell their goods. The traveling from Baldwyn was done by horse and buggies or on horseback using the services of the local livery stable.

Noted for its' fine meals, many people of this area made it a Sunday treat to come to Baldwyn to enjoy "Sunday Dinner" in the elegantly appointed dining room. Miss Laurie Walker operated the hotel for many years. Located just across the street from the hotel was the M and O Railroad. The hotel was a beehive of activity when six passenger trains a day passed through Baldwyn. George Pearce, the porter, met each of the incoming trains to assist travelers with their baggage. He pushed a two wheel cart to and from the railroad station to meet the trains.

The register at the hotel which was kept by George Pearce now rests at the Brice's Crossroads Museum in Baldwyn. It is noted in the register that George had a fine handwriting and entered the weather for the day when he opened each new page of the register.

The following clipping is from the Baldwyn Home Journal which was found in the papers of Miss Laurie Walker after her death and passed on to us by Mrs. R.B. Caldwell. While there is no date shown on the clipping, it is assumed that this is one of the wonderful meals prepared during the days the hotel was operated by Miss Laurie.

THANKSGIVING DINNER
OUR HOME HOTEL
BALDWYN, MISS.

MENU

Oyster Cocktail
Cream of Tomato Soup
Turkey with Oyster Dressing and Giblet Gravy
Cranberries, English Peas, Cream Potatoes, Escalloped Asparagus,
Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows, Pumpkins, Crystallized Apples, Peach Sweet Pickles,
Celery, Olives. Frozen Fruit Salad on Lettuce
Charlotte Rousse
Coconut Cake
Hot Rolls
Brown Bread
Crackers
Coffee and Milk

Price $1.00
Please make reservations by Wednesday.

The operators of the hotel passed on several years ago and now the hotel has gone up in smoke, but there are those who still remember the days when it was the center of activity in Baldwyn.
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Note: What appears to be George Pearce's two-wheeled cart is sitting near the west steps in the photo. The front of the hotel once faced the railroad, but was turned around to face the north for some reason. -CH

Memories of Working at Hopkins Grocery

Crowd for Saturday Money Drawing in the 1950s as seen from upper floor of Tom's Drug Store

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Part 1

Gerald McKibben

I worked there before Don did. Howard hired a lot of high school students, and his store was a good place to work. He was a good man who treated people fairly. John Howard, Hayden Nabors, Bill Hogue, and a Wildmon boy, whose first name I can’t remember, were others working there while I was there. There were possibly others also. Don remembers that our Cousin Doug Herring worked there for quite a while, and also Bobby Lytal, Larry Carpenter (Gene’s son), and Billy Ray Dobbs, though not necessarily at the same time. David Johnson later became the butcher after Richard Mauldin.

Billy Hopkins, Howard’s brother, worked at the checkout counter. Raymond Hill was also a checker. This was before he had his own furniture and appliance store. Sometimes Mildred, Howard’s wife, also checked groceries. The old cash registers were not automatic. After entering the amount of each item you had to pull that lever and that’s what printed the item on the paper tape. Billy was very efficient. But he had one customer who got into the habit of asking him to re-enter all her items to double check his work. That was time consuming, and was a real pain when things were busy and she had a large basket of items. So he devised a plan to discourage her from doing that. He rang up her basket of groceries one day and deliberately entered the wrong amount on one item, in her favor. So when she asked him to please re-enter the items, he “found” the mistake and told her she owed him a little more money than she did the first time. She never did ask him to do that again.

During the fifties buses drove to town on Saturdays from out in the country and brought people who didn’t have their own transportation or who just found it more convenient to ride the bus. Those people would come into the store and grocery shop, then when we bagged their groceries we would write their names on the bags and stack them in the floor in one corner of the store. Any perishables were bagged and labeled separately and taken back to the refrigerator or freezer section. A note to that effect was written on the bag. Later in the afternoon, after the “drawing”, when the buses were getting ready to leave, they would come and get their groceries.

There was a lot of personal service back then that you don’t get now. Those who didn’t have any transportation or anyone else to do their grocery shopping for them would phone in their orders, and they would be filled and delivered to them. One day Billy handed me a grocery list he had taken down. I collected all the items and brought them to the checkout counter. Billy reached in and pulled out a carton of Donald Duck orange juice and told me to go and exchange it for the more expensive pure product. “Mrs. so and so doesn’t want that cheap stuff”, he said.

Customers were extremely loyal in those days. Rarely would anyone trade with both of the bigger stores; you were either a Cunningham customer or a Hopkins customer. There were people who shopped at Cunningham’s who never set foot in Hopkins, and vice versa. It didn’t have anything to do with a negative opinion of the other place. But rather, I assume one reason was that you expected some degree of personal service back then, and it was to your advantage to get to know the owners well.

I mentioned how efficient Billy Hopkins was. Once, when he was breaking open rolls of coins to replenish the cash register, he hesitated with one roll and bounced it up and down in his hand a few times and then threw it down on the counter. “Count that”, he said. “It feels too light”. And sure enough, it only had 39 quarters. It amazed me that he could detect a difference of one quarter in 40.
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In Part 2, I tell about how we candled eggs and helped ladies pick out material for home made dresses.