Scaggs tradition serves PCCS well during holidays

Matriarch of the Scaggs family, Bertie Scaggs (white sweater), greets Putnam County Comprehensive Services (PCCS) board member Maxine Haskett (left) as she makes her way through the serving line at the recent PCCS Christmas dinner at the fairgrounds. The annual dinner, put on by the Scaggs family for the 36th year, served a record number of more than 250 guests. Other Scaggs family members identifiable include Vicky Shillings (right), Jason Hall, Bobbi Murray, Missy O'Hair, Cailin Shillings, Douglas O'Hair, Glena Murray and Colton Shillings. Others serving but not pictured include Carrie Shillings, Brad Shillings, David Moore and Becky Moore. (Photo by ERIC BERNSEE)

Most families embrace some sort of Christmas tradition. It might range from opening gifts on Christmas Eve to caroling in the neighborhood to exchanging ugly Christmas sweaters.

Regardless of whether such customs are serious or silly, holiday traditions can be a powerful kindred barometer, bringing relatives closer together and often creating a family legacy in the process.

The Scaggs family of Putnam County has done just that over the past 36 years. But instead of forging that tradition through family fun, they have built it with hard work, dedication to a cause and concern for others.

So since 1978 -- back when Jimmy Carter was in the White House and every kid was hoping to find a Simon Says or Hungry, Hungry Hippos game under the Christmas tree -- the Scaggs family has been providing Christmas dinner for the clients, families, employees and board members of Putnam County Comprehensive Services (PCCS).

"It started out at the Moose Lodge but it got so big we had to move it over to the fairgrounds," longtime PCCS Executive Director Chuck Schroeder explained as the tantalizing smell of turkey and dressing and dinner rolls wafted over the community building gathering.

Last Friday night the Scaggs family -- led by matriarch Roberta "Bertie" Scaggs who wielded serving tongs that dished up the white meat of six turkeys -- served a record 250-plus guests.

"This is the biggest event we've had from a standpoint of numbers," Schroeder added, calling the Scaggs contingent "a very faithful family for us."

Among those on hand to cook and serve and clean up included not only Bertie Scaggs but Vicky Shillings, Becky Moore, David Moore, Jason Hall, Bobbi Murray, Missy O'Hair, Cailin Shillings, Carrie Shillings, Brad Shillings, Douglas Shillings, Glena Murray and Colton Shillings.

Bob and Bev Farrow, usually right in the thick of things, were there in spirit but reportedly had to be out of town for another engagement this year.

The dinner idea was the idea of Bertie's husband, the late Donald Scaggs who died in a hunting accident some years back, but whose memory is carried on through not only the "Scaggs Family Dinner" but a foundation that bears his name and collects funds to make the annual event possible.

Don Scaggs and his family, Schroeder explained, "had the general feeling they wanted to do something for people with disabilities, so this is how they've gotten involved."

Feeding the masses that the PCCS clients and their extended family have become "routinely costs about $1,500," Schroeder said.

But it remains an obvious labor of love for the Scaggs family.

This year family members and friends arrived at the fairgrounds before the sun was up, cooking six turkeys, a couple of hams, making homemade stuffing and preparing green beans, rolls and other items necessary to feed what became 250 hungry and appreciative guests.

Through the years, it's become a huge and expensive task to continue. In fact, the agency has grown so much over the period, Schroeder noted, that to help offset the cost of the dinner event, the PCCS board has made an annual donation to the Scaggs foundation in recent years.

Thus, one local holiday tradition has now created another.