The Day All Hell Broke Loose

CHAPTER 1

Born May 8, 1970 to the Reverend Wallace and Mrs. Suzanne Pennington, Chauncey was the apple of his mother’s eyes. And as an only child he enjoyed the kind of early aged pampering reserved for royalty. When Chauncey’s Aunt Eunice, who had raised him from age 7, was asked to describe what her younger sister was like she replied with a smile “She was a beautiful, slender, bright-eyed, pecan tanned girl who loved that baby with every ounce of her soul. She had tried to have children before Chauncey finally came along but every time something went wrong and it seemed like every time her pregnancy failed she would become more and more depressed” Eunice said as she remembered her sister’s desperate desires. “But Ohhh… when that Chauncey was born it was like Suzanne was reborn. She was proud to be a momma. But to tell you the truth I think she was more proud to be Wallace E. Pennington’s baby’s momma” Eunice said chuckling.

You see, before Wallace ever knew who Suzanne was He was already a very popular man, primarily because he was a gifted preacher who pastored one of the largest churches in northern Ohio. A tall, dark, handsome, curly head, well spoken man, Wallace E. Pennington was adored by the many who knew him. And if he wasn’t adored enough for his gift to preach, he was certainly adored by the women in Ohio for being one of the finest black men they had ever seen. “He would have churches filled to capacity when he would run those summer revival meetings.” Eunice replied, still chuckling, when asked to share her thoughts about her brother-in law. “He would have those women flocking behind him in droves, and all of em wasn’t looking for the Lord either, if you know what I mean. Everybody was after that boy. I mean everybody. Single women would come down there to that church all dressed up and get as close as they could to that pulpit. But, then he met my sister and I guess it was love at first sight. Some folk had always wondered how could a man like Wallace Pennington who was so handsome be single for so long and not have a First Lady at Mt. Carmel? Some would say either he wasn’t interested in women, you know… or maybe he was just damaged goods. I believed that he was just waiting on a good girl like my sister”. Eunice said.

They were a perfect couple by all indications and when it was announced in church that they were engaged, the congregation was understandably excited because they knew that their deserving pastor, who was by this time was already thirty-seven years old, needed and desired a help meet and who better to fill that role than Suzanne Dawkins, a gorgeous thirty-one year old elementary school teacher formerly of North Florida.

Once Wallace and Suzanne were married and officially Mt. Carmel’s first couple and after six long years of trying they finally gave Mt. Carmel it’s official heir to the elder Pennington’s legacy; Chauncey Evansworth Pennington, a bright-eyed, curly-head, brown baby boy who was as handsome as his daddy and who grew up to be as charming as his momma. Life was good in the Pennington house or so it seemed. Wallace was still excelling in ministry and Mt. Carmel, which once boasted of being one of northern Ohio’s largest churches with only 350 members or so, grew rapidly into a grand ministry of nearly 1,000 members. This family enjoyed the luxuries of life primarily because they enjoyed the support of a loving church family. They lived in an exclusive suburban community, drove only the best vehicles and gave Chauncey the best education money could pay for. But all of that changed one still June day in 1977.

Eunice described it as the “darkest day of my life. I was at home on a Friday, at about five in the evening. I was cleaning some greens and watching the evening news when the phone rang. It was Chauncey”, Eunice said slowing her speech dramatically. “When I recognized that it was him on the phone I said, like I always used to, hey Auntie’s Baby. But I could tell something was wrong. It sounded like he was crying and I just asked him; what’s the matter baby? And he wouldn’t say nothing. Then I asked him where his momma was and he told me that she was laying on the chair in the living room. He told me that she was bleeding. I didn't know what had happened to her but by the time I rushed over, my sister was dying and Wallace was already dead. And Chauncey, he was begging his momma to get up.