Bootsie Callaham

Bootsie Callaham, longtime Haygood member, gifted Altar Guild member, talented artist, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

Bootsie and her late husband, Jim, joined Haygood around 1959, when they started going to Jake Maxwell’s Sunday School class. Bootsie recalls what a wonderful teacher he was and how much fun the class members had socializing, even regularly playing practical jokes on each other. For some reason she can’t recall, the silly side of class was called “pill pals.”

One time, the class had a costume party in the Scout Hut where everyone dressed up like country people. Bootsie, dressed as country comedienne Minnie Pearl, won for best costume. Her door prize was large and rectangular and wrapped up beautifully. It was an old screen door someone had found in a dumpster. She also remembers something about Sandra and Allen Ecker and a live turkey at someone’s door….

But the old days weren’t just about good times together. They were also about working together—like volunteering to deliver Meals on Wheels, which were reheated in a makeshift kitchen at the church and delivered all around Ponce de Leon and Morningside. They also held Blood Drives and helped with Wednesday night suppers, which were getting started then.

Bootsie turned 90 in early 2025 and now lives in an assisted living community. She keeps up with Haygood every Sunday when she streams the worship service. She sees people she knows, watches Julia playing piano up close, and sometimes sees former acolytes she recruited and helped into their robes, like Caroline McGlamry and Taylor Driskill. She happily recalls all the times Taylor sang “O Holy Night” at Christmas, too.

“I watch the service on YouTube on Sunday and it means a lot to me. I’m shy and kind of an introvert but I liked to do things that make a difference and Haygood led me to ways I could do that, like volunteering. It was very rewarding,” she said.

And if you’re wondering what her REAL name is, it is Eleanor. But her friends at Haygood call her Bootsie!

Anne Dukes talked with Bootsie Callaham in 2025.