Memories of Maryland Conventions! (page 3)

BluesBrother

When I was a kid Circuit Assemblies were Friday night session, start Saturday Morning short meeting then Field Service , sessions afternoon and evening. Sunday the same but finish perhaps around

As kids we used to hang out and socialize when they were out " on the work"

They were held in town halls, school assembly halls ...anywhere. once I remember an army drill hall with a large field gun at the back.

We used to have food though. The temporary kitchens they built would grace an army ....health and safety? . Hot dinners on trays plus a cold buffet... better than taking sandwiches .

Looking back... yes they were fun, .meeting friends , helping (or hindering) the workers . The programme was often more like amateur theatrics too.

Those were the days, right Blues? I don't remember any of these things but Atlantis does. He goes way back to the 1950's when JW's who were pioneering would go in field service for 8, 10, and even 12 hours a day.

They would pack their breakfast, lunch and dinner. Sometimes it was late at night when they got home. Back then I think he said it was 100 hours a month for regular pioneers and 150 hours for special pioneers or something like that.

And then for these people to have to work a job to support themselves. You wonder how in the world they did it all.

Thank you!

Petra!

road to nowhere

Remember doing rooming work? Asking for accomodations from strangers for strangers. I still cringe.

Dad and Mom would have out of town friends stay with us the few times we were blessed with a local convention instead of having to travel. 3 extra families, all with kids, one bathroom. Cots in the living room, yard, blankets on the floor.

TD

Maryland is hot and muggy in the summer...

Oh yes.....Washington DC was a malarial swamp long before it was a city

Whatever became of the Crownsville assembly hall? Did the JW's hold on to it or sell it off?

Still Totally ADD

Atlantis what I use to hate was they would always schedule the CA on Thanksgiving weekend. Three days of misery. 6pm to 9pm Friday, 9am to 9pm on Saturday and 9am to 4 or 5pm on Sunday. Come Monday morning at school I was exhausted while the rest of the kids were happy and excited that Christmas was coming. Then the 1969 Atlanta hell hole DC. 8 days of extreme heat, thunder storms and heat exhaustion. Such. Happy memories. Still Totally ADD

Atlantis

road to nowhere:

All those people and only one bathroom??? Yikes!

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TD:

I could ask Brother X what happened to the Crownsville Assembly Hall. He would probably know because he lives in Maryland.

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Still Totally ADD:

You must have been so tired when you got back to school that you were dragging your feet and sleeping through class. That is what Brother X was doing.

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Thank you all for your comments!

Petra!

John Redwood

I can give you guys a rundown on Crownsville if you like. Back around 2008-2009 we tore down the entire assembly had as well as the caretaker home, and we rebuilt an entirely new Hall and home. I worked on that project from the very beginning until all the way through the dedication by Sam Herd.

I'm guessing the person who knows me worked on this project with me? I worked with people from all over and in several departments. I was a site photographer and aerial photographer, and shot nearly all the aerial photos from start to finish. I flew around 8 flights throughout the building project. I also had the construction department erect a tower build of several levels of scaffolding, upon which they placed a small building in the air so that I could permanently mount a camera, which I used to shoot a time-lapse of the entire project.

When I wasn't shooting, I managed the installation of the sound system under the low voltage overseer. That was a major undertaking that took up a great deal of my time. Nearing the end of the project I was on site every day of the week without break. I have the entire Crownsville archive of photos (over 50,000) and I shot over 50,000 photos for the time-lapse end of the project, which I distilled down to 13,000 images- then turned them into a time lapse.

Anyway, Crownsville is still around, and boy did they milk the JWs for cash to pay for it. Millions.

Lots of Crownsville stories if anyone cares to hear :-) For the most part I had a great time, despite all the ridiculous drama that happened down there. I was in the very early stages of waking up back then, although I was not conscious of waking up. Subconsciously I think I buried myself in that project to avoid so much of the nonsense that plagued our congregation and the project itself.

John Redwood

I noticed the comments regarding Wayne Schafer also. I've known him since I was a small child. In fact, his mother lived just a few houses away from me and taught me piano in my elementary years, and was our closest JW friend.

Wayne has an interesting history you might not believe if I told you. During my later teen years he was disfellowshipped and went full-on apostate, and he came to the Crownsville Assembly Hall with another disfellowshipped JW to allegedly disrupt the assembly.

The attendants scampered and posted guard by all the stage entrances to prevent him from storming the platform- which was their fear. Everyone was frightened, including me.

Later he returned to the religion, and the last I checked he attends the same Kingdom Hall I attended for all those years in Perry Hall/Carney (outskirts of Baltimore)

And yes, his son is Governing Body Helper David Schafer.

I was not close to David growing up because Wayne's wife high-tailed it out of Baltimore and moved to the west coast, Portland as I recall. Wayne's mother was Naomi Southard, the grandmother of David Schafer. She would travel whenever possible to Oregon to spend time with David her grandson, and she would always bring me back souvenirs.

When Mount St Helens erupted, Naomi brought be back several bags of volcanic ash which had settled everywhere. I still have that ash, 40 years later.

SadElder

John Redwood check your pm's

Atlantis

John Redwood:

Thank you so much for those great highlights and inside information! Your comments are very much appreciated.

Petra!

Memories of Maryland Conventions!

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