I Rode the Pink Pig

Southern Scribe
our culture of storytelling

Essay Review

I Rode the Pink Pig:
Atlanta's Favorite Christmas Tradition
Foreword by Ludlow Porch
Hill Street Press, 2004
Hardcover, $15.95 (96 pages)
ISBN: 158818099-9

Children who visited Rich's Department Store during the Christmas season from 1953-1990 were more often than not more interested in riding the Pink Pig than seeing Santa Claus. The love of these memories survived well into their adulthood, and now Hill Street Press with Rich's-Macy's have collected the memories, history, stories and trivia into a charming gift book.

Ludlow Porch remembers getting stuck in Priscilla, when his daughter refused to ride without him. Raymond D. Hicks, who served as Rich's Santa beginning in 1963, claims that as many grandmothers as children sat on his knee. In the mid-60's it became necessary to add an extra pig ride, so Percival Pig joined Priscilla.

As we prepare our hearts and minds to see the name Rich's dropped from Rich's-Macy's in 2005, I Rode the Pink Pig becomes a cherished memento for the young and old of those heartwarming years when Atlanta gathered for the lighting of the Great Tree and a ride on the Pink Pig.

Joyce Dixon
Southern Scribe Reviews