This was probably about the size of the Ohio tent. The ground was covered with about six inches of sawdust and wood shavings. This was done because it would have been a very muddy mess if nothing was put on the ground. The seating was wooden benches that were made so they could be taken apart for storage during the rest of the year. There were "h" shaped brackets that held two planks in place, one for sitting on, and one for the back. They were not the most comfortable seating arrangements, but they worked. Many people brought cushions with them to sit on. Some brought lawn chairs, but lawn chairs were expensive then so not many brought them. I can still remember sitting on the floor during meetings playing in the sawdust, making roads and hills, etc. They had lots of meetings there and my parents attended most of them.
I remember one time during a meeting on Saturday night. It was almost dark. (They did have bare light bulbs strung on wires in the tent, that sometimes went out.) But this night it was storming and raining heavily. The water would run down the tent and puddle in the "pockets" created by the weight of the water at the edge of the tent. To avoid having too much water build up the ushers used coat-rack stands (a flat wooden bottom with a pole attached with hooks on the top to hang coats) that they held up-side down so they could push the flat bottom up from under the tent where the water was building up. This was continually done while it was raining to avoid the water becoming too heavy and breaking through the canvas tent material. As I remember, we were sitting about twenty feet or so from where an usher was performing his "water maintenance" work. I of course was more interested in watching him push the water up and seeing it splash out over the edge of the tent than I was in listening to the speaker. Just then the usher gave a big push up under a large pocket of water--perhaps 30 gallons or so. The canvas broke wide open! Water splashed everywhere getting the usher soaked and some of the attendees quite wet. This was great fun for me.
Another thing I remember about Camp Meetings was that many of the churches would bring things to sell, to raise money for missions. It was usually quilts, blankets, clothing, small toys for kids, etc. There would be dozens of booths in the gym, or another building about that size. Of course all of us kids liked the toys and gadgets they had for kids to play with. I think
every one's favorite was bean bags that the church ladies had made from scrap fabric. Some churches would have piles of them in all shapes and sizes. I do not know how much they were but they must have been quite cheep as my parents would always let me buy one, or even two. I think all the kids had them and we would have great times playing catch with them and making up games to play.
Maybe we had so much fun with bean bags because there were no cell phones, no
ipods, no game boys, or other electronic forms of entertainment. There were radios and TVs, but Camp Meeting rules forbid any on campus so as not to detract from the spiritual atmosphere.
(photo by my Dad, c1953)My grandmother (dad's mom), my mother, my sister, and me at Ohio Campmeeting
Living arrangements were interesting. The church workers, pastors, administrators, etc., would have rooms in the dorms. All church workers had to be there a week or two before Camp Meeting started to put it together. There was A LOT of work to be done. The tents had to be pitched, including smaller tents for the kid's and youth's meetings, and all the sound equipment and stages had to be put together. And then there were the hundreds of family tents to put up. They had wooden floors for each of the tents (they were stacked in large piles during the rest of the year). These had to be placed and the tents put up over them and electricity hooked up to each of the tents--cords strung from polls to each of the tents with a light bulb on the end. The tents were about 14-16 ft. square as I recall. They had cots and each tent would hold six cots, I think. People could rent a tent and as many cots as they wanted. Some brought their own cots. Of course everyone had to bring their own bedding and if they wanted privacy within the tent, they would hang up sheets or blankets to separate the tent into a couple of rooms. There were rows and rows of tents terraced up the hillside. If you wanted to spend a little more, you could get a room in one of the academy dorms, if there were any available. By the way, the Camp Meetings were usually held on the academy campus. In Ohio it was at the Mt. Vernon Academy. We usually stayed with some friends of my grandfather's who lived about three blocks from the campus, but sometimes we stayed in a tent. The tents were more fun. Showers and bathroom facilities were built for those who stayed in the tents.
(photo by my Dad, c1953)Note the old cars in the background.
Camp Meeting was in the spring or summer so heat was not an issue--staying cool was the problem. On hot days everyone would be carrying a fan to use during the meeting or whenever they were sitting still. The conference usually provided fans for anyone who wanted them. They were just a piece of cardboard on a large tongue depressor. Or, if you wanted something more fancy you could bring your own or buy one there at one of the booths or at the ABC.
Yes, there was an
Adventist Book Center presence represented there, although it was not called ABC then. I think it was
The Book and Bible House. There was a building, or part of a building set up with tables of all the books and bibles. I think they brought just about everything they had. They had the books and Bibles and also health foods and even some toys and games. It was fun to go through and look at all the things they had. On the last Saturday night of the Camp Meeting the book store would have meeting specials. After the sermon, which was always after sundown, the representatives from the book store would get up front and tell about the book specials they had. They would give a mini-book review of each book. They would package them several books in a "set". The sets were not necessarily related, just groups of books they wanted to sell together for the purpose of the sale. Then they would sell the sets right there. The ushers would bring them to you where you sat and you would hand them the money. They would sell a number of sets of books at VERY GOOD prices. As I recall, each set usually cost about $3.00. Which was worth a lot more then than it is now, but still a very good sale. They would sell probably thousands of books that way. That portion of the program would go on for over an hour. We would always buy at least some sets. What books were to be sold was always a surprise because they kept it a secret as to what books would be on sale.
Another highlight was the food. Most of the time Mom would make the food, usually sandwiches and picnic type food. But a couple nights a week and always on Saturday night, we would get
vegieburgers and boysenberry punch. Great stuff! They were not that common back then and it was something special we always associated with Camp Meeting. It was a walk-up window. When you got your food you would find a place to sit and eat. There were no tables so most people just made due on the curbs or on the lawn. I am sure they were not any better than the
vegieburgers we have now, but I remember them as superior. The only time I can remember having Boysenberry punch was at Camp Meeting. That was special too. They did serve meals in the school
cafeteria but we seldom ate there. It was cheaper to fix your own meals.
When we were not going to meetings, eating, or playing with bean bags, we sometimes went on hikes. The campus was on a hill and there were a few places to go hiking. Sometimes my parents would go to a state park just a few miles away where there were great hiking trails through woods with large trees. It was so nice to be there in the cool shade. As we got older my friends and I could go off by ourselves to go hiking, etc. And our parents could not get in touch with us! (No cell phones, remember). It was a lot of fun.
Especially at the Michigan Camp Meeting. There were better parks and trails there, within walking distance of the camp grounds.
Michigan Camp Meeting was similar to the Ohio Camp Meeting except they had the huge
auditorium instead of the tent. It still had dirt floor for some time. They eventually put in a cement floor, as I remember.
Oh, I almost forgot,
humm, there actually were programs and sermons. The kids and youth programs were REALLY GOOD and it seems to me they put a lot of time and effort in them. They would often take the whole class on hikes, and/or have their program outside in good weather. I do not remember a lot about the programs except that I really liked them.
I still remember a couple of the speakers. There was William
Fagal--founder of
Faith For Today television. There was H. M. S. Richards, Sr.--founder of
Voice of Prophecy radio program. We always enjoyed Del
Delker and the King's
Harolds quartet. I actually met some of them and talked briefly with them. It was exciting to meet the
SDA "Stars" of radio and television.
Pastor & Mrs. Fagal
Del Delker
H. M. S. Richards, Sr. 
Going Home
Kathryn Albertson Park (Oct. 2009)
(photo by Mom or Dad)
(photp by my Dad, June, 1966)
(Ohio Camp Meeting--photo by my Dad, c1953)
(image from google)
(photo by my Dad, c1953)
(photo by my Dad, c1953)
(image by google)
(image by google)
(image from google)
(image by google)
I recently heard a touching story. A young couple, who already had a small boy, was going to have a baby girl. Every day the little boy would sing to his sister before she was born. He loved to do it often and would really put his heart into it. Everything was going well until the baby girl was born. Then there were complications and she was put on life-support. The doctors could find no reason for her not to get better. They did not expect her to live. They did everything they could but she kept getting worse. Big brother was not allowed to see her. He was devastated. He kept asking when he could see his little sister and when he could sing to her. Soon the doctors told the parents that the baby would live only a very short time. The parents decided brother should see his sister before she died, and be permitted to sing to her if he wanted to. Much to the dismay of the hospital staff, brother was dressed in hospital scrubs and taken into the room where his baby sister was. As he watched her, he began to sing his favorite song to her. He sang for what seemed like a long time. Then he told her good bye and left the room with his mother and father. That very night the baby girl began to improve dramatically! She continued to improve and the following day, or perhaps it was the day after that, she was well enough to take her home.
[True story told on TV by Jennifer LaMountain]
