The Lakelander asked some of Whitney’s leaders about their favorite holiday traditions…
Billy Pribble, the City of Whitney’s public works director, shared one of his holiday traditions in the form of a favorite family recipe.
Pribble wrote, “My favorite candy is Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Growing up, my mom would make this pie during the holidays, and I always looked forward to it. My mom was gracious enough to share the recipe with my wife, Marla, and now she makes it for the holidays. I hope that everyone enjoys it as much as I do! God Bless and Merry Christmas!”
Ingredients
- 9 oz packaged graham cracker crumb crust
- 1 cup Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
- 1/4 cup Hershey’s Cocoa
- 1 can (14 oz) Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 egg beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Whipped topping (optional)
Directions
Heat oven to 350 F. Sprinkle chips on the bottom of the crust. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Add cocoa, stir until smooth. Add sweetened condensed milk and water, stir with whisk until well blended. Stir in egg and vanilla. Remove from heat. Pour into the crust. Bake for 30 minutes or until edges are set (center will firm while cooling). Cool slightly. Garnish with whipped topping, if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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Adam Bain, president of Lake Whitney Chamber of Commerce and park superintendent and park police officer of Lake Whitney State Park, enjoys celebrating the holiday season by treasuring time with family and friends and remembering the reason for the season.
As a child, his favorite holiday dish was his grandmother’s apple pie. Now he loves eating his wife’s “not yo mama’s banana pudding.”
Growing up, Bain typically spent Christmas Eve at his grandparents’ house and then traveled back home so that his family could open presents on Christmas morning in their house.
Now Bain’s family celebrates at his brother’s home a day or two before Christmas. Then he spends Christmas morning with his family, wife and 3 ½-year-old twins.
Bain said, “My favorite thing about the season is just spending time with family and watching our kiddos enjoy the holiday season. They have really enjoyed decorating this year and seeing all the houses with lights on them.”
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Mayor Jerry Barker has performed several holiday traditions with his daughter over the years. They went all out in decorating the outside of their house, and they put the Christmas tree up the day after Thanksgiving. The family always decorated the Christmas tree together and hung their stockings that they each personally created.
“Tradition was a priority in our family. As most parents on Christmas Eve, myself and my wife went to work. First getting my daughter to sleep and making sure she did not sneak out of her room to catch Santa Claus at work,” Barker said.
They managed to put together all of Santa’s gifts, working through the wee hours of the morning. The family made certain that they had cookies and milk for Santa and always included oatmeal for Santa’s reindeer.
Barker’s childhood traditions were similar to the ones he carried out with his daughter. He passed his family holiday traditions on to the next generation.
His family always took lots of photos so that they could reminisce over memories for years to come. Barker said, “We always go back to the previous Christmas experience and enjoy how our parents look and how much older we as kids have grown from last year’s Christmas experience. Good time for sure.”
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