 Laura Cobb Hutchins Paddock "Aunt Lollipop" collection
Collection DescriptionHistorical NoteLaura Cobb Hutchins Paddock (1892-1979) was a puppeteer, professional storyteller, and teacher from Athens, Georgia who played a character named Aunt Lollipop and hosted the children's television shows "Aunt Lollipop's Puppet Shop," "A Visit With Aunt Lollipop," "Aunt Lollipop in Mother Goose Village," and "Aunt Lollipop's Story Book Land" on WGTV, broadcast from the University of Georgia. Her WGTV programs aired from 1967 until her death in 1979. Paddock owned over 100 puppets, but her signature puppet was a monkey named Pedro that featured in most of her shows. Paddock began her broadcast career as a storyteller on WGAU radio in Athens in 1940. While she ended her career as Aunt Lollipop in Athens on WGTV in the 1960s and 70s, Paddock had by that time made a name for the character on WBZ radio in Boston, WHNC-TV in New Haven, WBAL-TV and WMAR-TV in Baltimore, and television stations in Palm Beach and Miami, Florida. Paddock's ancestry connects her to the prominent Cobb and Rutherford families of Athens. She was the granddaughter of University of Georgia math professor Williams Rutherford on her mother's side, as well as the niece of Mildred Rutherford, and the grandniece of Howell Cobb and Thomas Reade Roots Cobb. She graduated from the Lucy Cobb Institute and married Dave Paddock in 1917. Mr. Paddock was the captain of the University of Georgia football team and was twice voted All American quarterback. The Paddocks would raise three children: David Jr., Laura, and Margaret. She performed as Aunt Lollipop into her final years of life and died in 1979 at the age of 87. Scope and ContentThe collection consists of several of Laura Cobb Hutchins Paddock's puppetry artifacts, including a variety of hand puppets, stick puppets, and components of a puppet theater. The collection also contains several scrapbooks documenting Paddock's career as a storyteller and puppeteer under the moniker Aunt Lollipop. The scrapbooks are made up of newspaper clippings, photographs, correspondence, programs, diplomas, and other ephemera. Some of the scrapbooks document Paddock's family history. Several copies of Athens High School's literary magazine, The Scroll, dating from the late 1930s, are also included. Administrative InformationConditions Governing AccessMaterials in the collection labelled as being in organic storage are housed off site in a secure location to address their particular preservation requirements. Access to these materials requires 24 hours notice for retrieval to provide for access at the Special Collections Libraries. Related Materials and SubjectsSubject TermsRelated Collections in this RepositoryRelated collections in the Hargrett Library include the Lipscomb family photo albums, ms1635; and the Mildred Lewis Rutherford papers, ms 41. Related materials in the Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection include "A Visit With Aunt Lollipop" episode (broadcast April 5, 1968) from the Georgia Center Film and Videotape Collection and the "Paddock, David (Mrs.) 'Aunt Lollipop'" interview from the Athens Clarke Heritage Foundation Oral History Tapes. | ||||||||||||||||||