The Old International assemblies (page 2)

pratt1

No Bethel, not a joke.

I was only about 8 so I didn't know any better.

If I was older I just would have asked for a peek.

May be nostalgia reigns here but the old assemblies were great. They certainly were hard work especially for families but there was the rooming work, preparing 1000's of meals and washing up 1000's of meals trays, erecting massive marquees, building the little booths that served sandwiches and coffee, etc, etc.

Things are a less exciting in these simplified days!

Eyeslice

sistaintheback

I was remembering how much fun assemblies were years ago also. Remember buying food tickets and fruit bags? Some assemblies even served hot meals. Me and my freinds loved going very early to the convention so that we could "work" in the kitchen. Making sandwiches and sneaking food into our mouths when no one was looking. I also remember that they use to turn the lights out during the drama and when the lights came back on half the people were asleep. (sniggle) Oh yeah, and the intermissions use to be 3 hours long!! O JOY!!

Eyeslice, why'd you have to go and make me nostalgic?

ohiocowboy

I remember the 1978 International convention in New Orleans. We stayed at the St. Charles Downtowner, along with several others from our Cong. It was when the book "My book of Bible stories" came out, and I was so excited that I actually wrote the Society to thank them. I even got a response from the society after I wrote them, and was so proud that I framed it and hung it in my room.

The name of the Convention was called "Victorious Faith", and I remember one of the brothers giving a part on stage, and telling about how one of the sisters had a baby during the convention, and the parents decided to name the baby "Victoria Faye", and everyone started clapping. I sure hope that the baby was a girl...

helios

How well I recall my last one at Wembley in the late 60s or early 70s. It rained and rained. The seating was full my wife and I struggled up flights of stairs with a pushchair and baby, meeting an aimless flow of bored JWs coming the other way. All was damp and cold.

When we eventually got to the top concourse we stood soaking wet to hear some idiot waxing lirical about how good the Kingdom Songs were and how rotten and immoral worldly composers are and were. My wife came down with a severe cold and chest infection and we left on the third day.

But we did learn that some composers were homosexuals.

Englishman

Last one I attended was Twickenham 1971. Sat with my dumpy then wife whilst my ex fiance fluttered her long black eyelashes at me.

Englishman.

Golf

Yes, assemblies were 'exciting' in the early fifties, I mean, what the HELL else was there? How prevalent was TV then? Present witnesses have no clue what life was back then. Yes, it was exciting!

unclebruce

I remember sneaking down to the guest bathroom to take a glimpse at the them while they took a shower.

but that part's a joke right? that's why we have pornography... so that we dont have to sneak peeks LOL @ bro Russell! .. something about Pratt1's post is creep'n me out a tad! lol One good thing about being a JW was travelling to the international assemblies. Melbourne in 1966 and 1969. Sydney & Port Moresby in 1973. Perth in 1979. Dozens of stories and memories from each unclebruce

Gretchen956

Oh yes, one of my only good memories. We would travel long distances in our cars and we were sure to pass others on their way. So to make sure that we could all wave at each other, we taped Awake or WT magazines into our back windows. There were many of these assemblies, didn't they have them every four years or something?

One memorable one for me, though I was very young, was the one in Los Angeles right before the Watts riots. We stayed (very white hick Montanans) with a black family. And we did not have a clue. I remember we went to a gas station to fill up and everything came to a stop. There were lots of people milling around and they all just stopped and looked at us with their mouths open, white people coming to fill up at their station in Watts. Well we made it out fine and later heard about the riots on the news. I think that was 63 or 64 or something, maybe 62. Like I said, I was very young.

I remember it was in an open air stadium and one day it rained. Not sprinkled, it RAINED. Everyone went out and got big sheets of plastic and made coverings for themselves. I occupied myself during the boring talks by poking holes in the plastic. That earned me a spanking but it was vastly more entertaining.

I was baptised at an international convention in Vancouver BC in the early 70s. We were baptised out in the harbour, first part of July, the water up there is FREEZING! The only bathing suit I had was a two piece so they wouldn't let me wear it, I had to borrow a suit from a lady I didn't know after she had already worn it into the water. It was dripping wet and ice cold. Talk about everything springing to attention, guess that was less revealing than a two piece though! What a bunch of maroons.

Ok, done waxing nostalgic.

Sherry

franklin J

...Pratt! You bad boy!

The Old International assemblies