Summer time at Grandma and Papaw’s was a constant in my life up until my teen years. Even when I was 18 or 19 I would go and spend weekends with them. They were so important in my life and I learned a lot from just being with them on the farm. Their home was like my home and I always felt a sense of peace and safety there.

This is not my Grandparent’s church but it looks just like their church did in the 1960s

Grandma and Papaw were born again at the late age of 28 and 36. Up until then they attended Church in their tiny Kentucky community. It was not unusual for people to be saved in adulthood in the early part of the 20th century. Child Evangelism is a relatively new thing. That came around in the 1930s and really gained momentum by the 1950s. Once they became a member of the Church they were devoted. They supported missionaries, taught Sunday School, cooked for the preacher and were very active members. I remember my Grandmother reading scripture with a magnifying glass and praying for people until she passed away at age 87.

The Church we attended had been in this community for a very long time. I have ancestors who attended there as early as the 1790s. It had undergone many remodels by the time I came around. In the 1960s it was a typically built little white building with a steeple. The quintessential Church in the Wildwood. My Great-great-great grandparents went to Church there all the way down to my Mother and I. I have cousins and uncles and aunts who still go to Church there.

My first memory of the Church was when I was 5 years old. I wore a little light blue dress that Grandma had made, white socks and black patent leather shoes and my Sunday School class sang in front of the Church members one Sunday.

My Uncle has a memory of the Church too. In 1948 when he was 2 years old, a family member passed away. The little Church was packed with people for the funeral. Funerals were different back then. The deceased was in a casket on a gurney and because it was summer time, there was a contraption on the casket where you could hang a mosquito net over the open casket. Not that mosquitoes were likely to be bothering the deceased but there are other flying insects to think about. Gurneys had very large rubber wheels so the casket with the deceased could be moved around.

So the day had dragged on and on and it was hot. People were really flapping those Church fans and perspiring up a storm. And a little fellow with a white shirt and overalls was getting so bored.

So he got up and wandered around a bit during the funeral. He was being good so Grandma allowed him to move about, it was better than him fidgeting and making noise. All was well and the really sad part of the funeral had begun and the pastor began his final, solemn prayer.

So what does the little boy with the overalls decide to do? Well he does what any 2 year old boy would do. He sits down in front of one of the big rubber gurney wheels, legs splayed, grabs the wheel in both hands, sticks out his tongue and starts making loud, wet truck noises. That lasted about 3 seconds before Grandma jumped up and grabbed him.

More to come …..