For my commentary today, I’m doing a history lesson on how Penny Pitch began. Penny Pitch is one of the longest running programs in the area, if not the oldest to help families here. If you’re from this area, I’m sure you have heard of Penny Pitch before, but if you have recently moved here, or have just picked up your first copy of The West Virginia Daily News, you may be asking yourself, “What is Penny Pitch?”
Penny Pitch was started around this time of year in 1967 by four Greenbrier Jaycees, Teddy Morgan, Flem Browning, Wayne Rogers, and Dennis Sanger. Sanger was the editor of The West Virginia Daily News at the time. All of these gentlemen are now deceased, but their program lives on. What these men had in mind, and what they accomplished, involved collecting money from the community as a Jaycee project. Jars and cans were placed on countertops around the Lewisburg and Ronceverte area with labels saying ” Support our Penny Pitch Project.”
These pennies would be added up to support their project, which is where Penny Pitch was named.
The money collected at that time was used fund a party at the Lewis Theatre for the area’s children. The Jaycees distributed candy and favors at the party. In that regard Penny Pitch fulfilled its mission in 1967 and 1968. Wayne Rogers played Santa Claus and walked up and down aisles of Lewis Theatre throwing party favors and candies from Santa’s bag. This project worked well for the Jaycees at the time and covered the project with monies, collected from the community jars at local businesses.
However, in 1969 they found themselves with more money than they needed to fulfill their party expenses at the Lewis Theatre, and Penny Pitch evolved into its current form. They decided that this money could provide a Christmas for children of families who needed help providing toys, clothing, etc.
The original team contacted local ministerial associations to learn of possible families who needed help. The families were visited and interviewed. These interviews got the family’s information and they shopped for warm clothing and toys for the children. They also provided a food box filled with staple foods and nonperishable items like we do today.
This program continued to grow and was taken over by Frank Spicer, former publisher of The West Virginia Daily News and treasurer of Penny Pitch, until his passing in 2005. That’s when I came on board with the program. Currently Penny Pitch assists over 100 families in the area each year for Christmas. We could easily assist more families if we had the funding and the volunteers.
This is the 53rd year for Penny Pitch to assist local families. This year has been a challenge like no other, with the COVID-19 pandemic doing interviews has been a challenge, and we have had issues with the Walmart program not working so we can get gift cards.
What has kept Penny Pitch going all these years? I would say it is the determination of volunteers who donate their time to this program year after year. Most of all, it goes on because of everyone who donates money to this program to keep it going. Everyone in the area knows that all of the money collected goes back into our communities to help local children have a toy for Christmas, a warm winter coat and a hot meal.
We raise a lot of money in a short time. We need your help to reach our goal this year. There’s only 16 days until Christmas, and we are a long ways from our goal. Please send your tax-deductible donation to Penny Pitch, P.O. Box 494, Lewisburg, W.V 24901. or you can drop it by The West Virginia Daily News office located at 188 Foster St. beside the downtown fire department.
Donations received since our last report:
• In memory of Earl & Imogene Darnell by Joe, Missy and Ashleigh Darnell, $50;
• In memory of Dora Hoke by Joe, Missy and Ashleigh Darnell, $50;
• Edward, Karen, Matthew and Mark Lemons, $200;
• In memory of Calvin & Delphia Lemons, $100;
• Maynard & Dianne Hinkle, $50;
• In memory of George & Helen Aide and Leo & Nadine O’Neil, $1,000;
• William & Gloria Martin, $200;
• Jeff & Annie Jeffus, $300;
• Willing Workers SS Class of Lewisburg UMC, $50;
• In honor of our grandchildren: Alex, Kate, Drew, John, Grace, Nathan, Jacob and Quinn by Doug & Patty Warren, $100;
• Kirby and “Boo” Hanson, $100;
• John & Floy Boyle, $50;
• David & Linda Reynolds, $200;
• In honor of all frontline workers and Greenbrier County Health Dept Team by Commissioner Tammy Tincher, $25;
• In memory of Katherine, $100;
• In loving memory of Darrell & Tina Cornwell and James & Edna Long by Patsy Cornwell, $250;
• Sue & Steve King, $100;
• Melissa Robinette, $30;
• In memory of T. Marshall Jones, $1,500;
• In memory of “Mollie”, $100;
• In memory if Shelby from Dr. John R Tomlinson, Sr., $50;
• In memory of Ron from Midge Wiseman, $50;
• In honor of the Kassel Family and their love of sharing, $1,000;
• Covington Paperworkers Union Local 675, $250;
• Freda Gale Greenway, $50;
• Mollie J Messimer, $100;
• In loving memory of Kenneth Boothe by Leila, Ken, Susan and Emily Grace, $1,000;
• In honor of our grandchildren: Kylie, HaHa, Brady, Katie-Bell, Collins, Landry, Carter, Brooks and Avery, $1,000;
Total Donations To Date: $32,791
