Evening star., 1898-08-27
AT Q C E,AN GROW
u :
The Last Week Of the Great Camp Meeting
~ is-On.
History OF the Corporation and n
Resulne OF Any Days
DevOtiOns.



Special Correspondence pf The Evening Star.
OCEAN GROVE. n. J., August "a, 1898.
Ocean Grove, the largest camp meeting
resort in America, is row experiencing the
height OF it's religious season. The ten-day
camp meeting, which annually marks this
period, began last Friday, and will be con-
tinued until next Tuesday noon. when, at
the tolling of the auditorium bell, Bishop
Fitzgerald will declare the camp meeting
closed.
Ocean Grove is primarily a Methodist re-
sert. Twenty-eisht years ago it was will
derness of pines and oaks on a waste of
sand. A little body of Methodists, vino
were then the leading lights in the church,
came along and selected the place for a
ten days camp meeting. They pitched
their big te 1t In a pretty grove u short dis
tance from the beach, and then erected
small Side-wail tents around 1t. In year
or two the annual camp meeting at Ocean
Grove became very popular, and the orig
lnators OF the idea formed themselves into
close corporation and organized the Ocean
Grove Camp Meeting Association. They
elected Rev. Edward S. Stokes president
and at once proceeded to purchase every
foot of land in that section lying between
Wesley and Fletcher lakes and extending
along the ocean front a distance of about
three-quartsrs of mile. Then Ocean
Grove began to grow, and the faster Il
gl ew the tighter became the corpora tion
1t was decided at the start that no prep
erty shouI1 be sold to any one outright
but only leased for ninety-nine years. All
| transfers bear this clause.
DR.. Stokes reigned supreme for twenty
seven years, and al his death, two sum
mers ago, ne was given an immense
funeral, and his body lay in state in the
fig auditorium he had worked SO hard 10
complete. Ocean Grove stands today a
monument to MS marvellous executive and
hn
summer population of about 10000. to
which 10,oOo may be easily added during
the camp meeting period. Where tine big
tent was trEt pitched there stands an I'M
mense auditorium. the largest in the coun.
try, with seating capacity of 10000 There
are five big hotels and hundreds of board
Ing houses. Indeed, during camn Meeting
time nearly every other house on every
The big auditorium was entirely natd Tor
by popular subscriptions at a love fea at
tEe year II was completed, and a place In
the membership of the association cannot
De purchased for any price.
Ocean Grove is entered by two thorough
tares. Main street and Broadway. Thess
streets are provided with gates. which are
closed and locked at midnight Saturday and
not opened until daybreak Monday morn
ing. Ihe rule concerning Sunday driving
is so strict that residents are not allowed
TO have hearse In the town on SUNDAYS in
case fureral Is set for this day Sew
eral times when there have been Sunday
funerals rhs pail bearers have carried the
casket through the street and out of the
gates to the spot where the hearse and car
fiages We're compelled to wait. As the law
also Keeps outthe Jnilkmen the residents
nave to send some member of their family
to the gates Sunday mornings for their
fresh milk. N9itobafco is sold in any form
Ii you take rooms at a hotel the proprietor
may give youa cigar" and 1t is nobody's
business II YOU are, charged something ex-
ira on your bill.
OF course. nos liquors of any kind are sold
People who become accustomed to these
regulations, however. find Ocean Grove a
very pleasant place to live during the sum-
mer months. The same regulations have
made the place what 1t is
Since the opep1ng Of the camp meeting the
services have abeeh continued necessarily
every day. The-frst-one is called the sun
rise service Pine auditorium bell calls the
worshipers to, 1t at $50. This lasts an hour,
and from II part Of the campers hurry home
to gst breakfast while the rest proceed d.
rect to the auditorium where the family
-devotions are1heid at the altar. c=
Immediately after breakfast, come three
simultaneous services-ths celebrated young
peoples meeting, for twenty years conduct
ed by Evangelist Yatman; the holiness or
shouting. meeting in the tabernacle, and
the helping hand service for old people in
the chapel
There Is only a few minutes interreynum
before the first public worship opens, at
1890 Then Is preached the first of the
three daily sermons. which is followed by
an old-fashioned Methodist after-meeting
Another sermon and after-meeting begin
at B O'Clock. which Is followed by a special
service for the children at 4 o'clock con-
Quoted by Mrs. Grace Weiser Davis, known
throughout the country as 1.-The woman
Moody
Evangelist Yatman holds twilight serv-
ice at $50. which continues until the even
ing public worship begins with the third
service of the day. This Is followed by an
other shouting service" at which peni-
tents and converts flock forward by the
score.
The camp leaders have been waging war
this week on the spirit Of frivolity which
they say has crept into the resort This
matter has been up repeatedly at the meet
ihgs, and the exhorters and camp officials
are stout in theif denunciation of the world
lness which they declare is taking posses
sion of SO many of Ocean Grove summer
ties. especially the young people 1t was to
overcome this that the camp association,
through its devotional committee composed
or Bishop j. N. Fitzgerald, president; Vice
PRESIDENT j. E. Ballard and DIR. ]. H. Alday,
has sent out an urgent appeal to the popu-
lace. ~