EACH YEAR, the Franklin County community comes together for a weekend of fun, playing softball while raising money for local athletes and remembering two of their own.
Their gathering is for the Molly/Abbie Softball Tournament that takes place at the Winchester City Park, in memory of two former Franklin County High School seniors, Molly Stewart and Abbie Bondurant.
Stewart and Bondurant passed away in 2000 due to a tragic boating accident. To honor their memory, a tournament was organized, and for the last 23 years the community has come together to enjoy a weekend of softball while raising money for the Franklin County High School (FCHS) softball program.
The two-day softball event features a competitive bracket and a fun division with all proceeds from the event to benefit the high school’s softball program.
Tournament coordinator and FCHS athletic director Kelly Kennedy has been helping with the tournament for the past two years and said it’s great to see the community come together and honor these two women.
“As somebody who didn’t grow up here, I think that watching the community rally together to remember two great girls is really important,” she said. “It was such a tragic event, and we just need to take time to remember that these two girls had a big impact not just on the FCHS softball program but on Winchester as a community. People are always very, very respectful when they play in the tournament and they understand that it’s a benefit tournament. I think what makes the tournament a little bit unique is that the community really rallied around those two families that lost their daughters so tragically, and I think it’s a good way to remember them.”
Abbie’s sister and Winchester resident, Jill Russell, remembers her sister leading the way to make friends when they moved to the area.
“My immediate family moved to Winchester just a few years before we lost Abbie,” she explained. “Moving from Elkton, a much smaller community in Giles county, to Winchester was an adjustment for all of us. It’s not easy to move to new places and make new friends. I feel like Abbie led the way for us. She tried out for cheerleading and made the squad. This was also where she met Molly. Molly played softball with the Methodist church, and Abbie tagged along to games.”
She added that upon losing Abbie, she and her family were overwhelmed with the support from the community.
“When we lost her and Molly at the end of their senior year, this community that was new to us, poured out an overwhelming love like we had never felt,” explained Russell. “Jim Gallagher, a part of Molly’s church family, was quick to organize a way to honor them with the Molly/Abbie memorial softball tournament. The first few years, our closest friends and family got teams together and participated in the fun division. It was always a fun time for us to come together.”
She said she is grateful for the community’s support throughout the tournament. Now, with her own children and nieces attending Franklin County schools, and athletes themselves, it’s a bittersweet way to honor Abbie.
“My daughter, Baylor, who looks a lot like her Aunt Abbie, is now a Franklin County Rebellette for soccer and basketball, and her basketball family gets a team up to play in the Molly/Abbie tournament each year,” said Russell. “Her niece, Aubrey, will be cheering for the North [Middle School] Gators and Gatorettes this year, following in her Aunt Abbie’s footsteps. Abbie didn’t get the chance to meet her nieces and nephew, but the tournament in Molly and Abbie’s honor is a way for them to know how special they were to the community.” GN
