Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1915-09-02

In last weeks issue of the Demo
crat, Mr.. T. J. Hickman, in his Hen
derson county Renaissance refers to
the old custom, which was universal
generation ago, of separating the
men from the women in religious meet
ings.
The editor of the Democrat has serv-
ed notice on me to tell the t'Where and
the why of this custom. It is true,
as Mr.. Hickman says, it was consider
ed breach of good behavior in church
to violate this rule.
On entering the church door. A
man and his wife were separated till
the church service was over. A lover
and his sweetheart might walk in COM
pany to the church door, but there
they parted company till after the ben
ediction.
This custom prevailed in the coun-
try communities long after it had been
abandoned in the towns In fact,
am not sure that it has been entirely
abandoned in the more rural settle
ments yet. It was sometimes amusing
to see young fellow, fresh from the
country on entering a village church,
where things were a little more UP
to date, go looking and walking about
over the house trying to find the place
where men alone were seated.
Brother Hickman says that church
houses were built with two doors-one
for men and the other for women to
enter through. This was true in some
Instances, but many of the houses
were built of logs and had but one
door and no window except a small
one just behind the pulpit, and it was
usually without glass. For light and
ventilation an opening was left be-
tween the logs. Seats were made of
slabs. Backs to church seats was a
luxury not to be INDUCED in. A mar
row isle through the center of the
building served as passway and also
as a line of separation between the
men and the women. Another thing
of interest about the old country
church was the pulpit. 1t was usual
ly an elevated box about five feet
square with door on one side for the
minister to enter. On entering the
pulpit the preacher was supposed n
close the door and thus shut himself
off from the outside world
Ministerial courtesy demanded that
every preacher in the congregation
should sit in the pulpit if there was
room for him and that he should have
some part in the service. 1t was not
at all unusual to have .Wo lengthy
sermons with preliminary opening by
one visiting minister and a conclud-
ing exhortation by another at one sit
ting. What would our modern congre-
cations do at a meeting like this?.
But | have left my subject, / was
asked to tell the when and the Why
| for seating the men and the women on
separate sides of the house in church
| Well i just don't know, you will have
to call on an older man for that in
formation. The most reasonable solu-
ton that | can think of is that when
the colonies were first being settled the
men found it necessary to be in read :
mess at all times, at church as we'll as
| elsewhere, to respond to the war
whoop of the savage. The men went
armed. we are told, to the church and
were liable at any minute to have TO
rush to the rescue and protection OF
their homes and loved ones Thus you
see it would be better for them to be III
a squad to themselves than to be en-
numbered with wives and sweethearts
who might be fearful and timid and
protest against their needing the call
to duty when the summons came Of
course, this would become a custom;
/ not likely to be dropped at once, when
the danger which brought it about is
. over If some one else has a better
solution of this question let us have it.
Respectfully,
A. I. JUSTICE.