Church in the Olden Days

Many, many years ago, long before I was born, my grandfather got in a tussle at the family church. You see, back in those days, some menfolk went to church, but didn't go inside the church. They only went so they could take the womenfolk. Some of the menfolk would find themselves outside the church, gambling and drinking and such. My grandfather was one of the ruffians.

My Aunt Mary, who was already over 60 years old when I was born, told me this story. During one church service, there in the back yard was my grandfather. Gambling and drinking and such. The preacher made up his mind that the menfolk out back were making too much noise, interfering with the service. He decided to call them down. They took the chastisement just fine. At first. After some more of the alcohol kicked in, they decided that they had been insulted. So they called the preacher out, along with some of the deacons, and decided they were going to "whup them." They succeeded. I suppose that church ended for that day, but Aunt Mary never filled me in from that point, and she is now long gone.

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Some years later, it came time for the church to build a new building. They needed a new location. My grandfather donated the land and lots of labor to build the new church. This must mean he was back in the good graces, as it were. My only reason for sharing this story is so that I may document it and come back to read it when I want to travel down the roads of history.

As far as I know, my name is still on the rolls of that church. I haven't attended in many, many years. I do know that the outhouses (his and hers) were replaced by indoor facilities in the 1980s. Maybe one day I will again visit. But right now, I can't see a situation where I would.