It is tradition for Pennytown descendants to gather at Pennytown Freewill Baptist Church each year to remember those who have passed on and continue spreading seeds of the gospel. As part of Santa Fe Trail Days, the Pennytown homecoming brought together families and friends through the enjoyment of food, fellowship and worship.
Speaking of how elated she was to be able to carry on the tradition of the Pennytown homecoming, Virginia Huston thanked the members of "Go Forth" (band) for helping restore the church and coming to the historic place each year to worship with her and many of her family members.
Charles Williams, whose great-grandmother Penelope "Penny" Lewis, lived in Pennytown, reflected upon some things he has recently been studying. Trying to figure out why African-Americans do things the way they do, Williams came up with a solution.
"We just found out for sure and we're getting more information about it," he said. "Why do we, descendants of Pennytown, and we as a people, do things the way we do? Because as slaves we have been programmed for over 300 years to act that way."
Williams briefly told about how his great-grandmother Penny was freed from slavery as a 5-month-old child. A woman who married into the family, Flora Lewis, was also an amazing woman, Williams said. In fact, he showed the congregation a page in the Kansas City Star's Sunday, Aug. 4, edition bearing a picture of the painting Flora Lewis had created in 1939. The fact that she was an African-American, and a woman, made her work even more important to Williams.
Source: Unknown, 5 August 2002