Smyrna times., 1931-01-21

i tie earth from the coffin. Thus
the young and the old, the tall, the
wise, and the reverend head were
unostentatiously laid low There
were no caskets in those days. The
rich sometimes INDUCED in plain
mahogany or walnut coffins with
iron handles. Now comparatively
poor people must have Rosewood,
lined with silk and satin and COW
cred with black cloth. French
plate glass top and silved mount
ings. Are fashionable funerals of
the present day an improvement d?
Is not the expense of the trappings
and the hundreds Of dollars ex-
pended in fading flowers, really
serious matter? An have not fun
eral sermons to some extent come
to be a bore or panegyric Of the
dead?
From Methodist street to the
meeting house, there was no pave
ment or board walk, or lamps to
dispel darkness. The Meeting
house was a large frame building,
weatherboarded outside and wains-
coated inside 1t was a cold barn
of place in winter, which the two
ten plate wood stoves could not
heat. No carpets graced the floor
and a single plank kept you from
the ground. To keep the sills and
flooring boards from decay, open
ings were made in the foundation
walls and the wind whistled nlerci-
lessly under your feet. There was
front door and single aisle run
ming through the center to the al
tar. There was also a side door
for convenient access to the pull
pit, at the end was gallery for
negroes, approached from an out
side door. The main floor was
seated with wooden benches with
strip back and extended from
the aisle to the side walls of the
house, of course much inconven-
fence was experienced in getting in
and out of the seats.
Of the preachers who used to be
then, I remember Laurence Nc
Comb. Larry Laurenceson, Jacob
Moore, Father Rider, Eliphlet Reed
Ezekiel Cooper, William Torbert,
jimmy Smith, Father Wiltshire,
Father Gruber, Solomon Sharp, H.
G. King, r. NJ. Greenback. James
Nichols. and others. 7 once heard
Mr.. Gruber reprove a lady for call
ing him Father Gruber" for said
the old German, Il ish Father to
Nothing" I suppose it was equal
" improper to call Mr. Wiltshire
Father" for he was an old bach
elor.
I remember two sessions of the
Philadelphia Conference held in
Smyrna the one in 1927 and the
other in 1929. At the latter the
sessions of the Conference were
held in the Fiends Meeting House,
and public religious services were
conducted, morning, afternoon and
night, in the Methodist Meeting
House. After this Conference a
season of great revival prevailed
and continued all Summer and for
sometime thereafter. Business was
to large degree suspended and
the community generally were un-
der great religious awakenings.
Some of the converts at that re-
vival who afterwards entered the
Itinerant ministry were William
Cooper, Pennell Coombe, John
Roach, John Ruth, James Walls,
William McGinness and others.
Quite number entered the ranks
of the local preachers and became
Workmen of whom the church was
not ashamed. Here let me relate
a notable incident.
The Rev. Henry 2. Bascom, then
chaplain to Congress, visited during
a recess the Hon John M Clayton
at Dover. A committee from
Smyrna was sent to invite Mr..
Bascom to preach here. He ac-
cepted the invitation and became
the guest of William A. Budd. /
remember to have heard Mrs .Budd
say that Mr.. Bascom during the
greater part of Saturday night, al
ternately walked his room and
preached and prayed. On Sunday
morning the Meeting House was
packed, and many unable to gain
admittance, crowded around the
open doors and windows. 1 have
a distinct recollection of his hymn
and his subject, but can attempt
no description of his sermon or
manner. OF his appearance, 1
may write. He was proverbially
handsome man; tall, well-built,
fine features, heavy suit of hair
and long side whiskers black and
CLASSY as a crow. He wore a black
cloth swallow-tail dress coat with
large rolling collar, black satin
stock with bow and tie in front,
while vest with gilt buttons and
massive gold watch, fob chain with
seals and bey attached. His dress
impressed me, because he was the