Remember when?

[EccentricM]

4 hours ago, Eejay said:

When I was at circuit assembly way back, the chairman announced that "tea and hot snakes would be served at the back of the hall at close of sessions".

Hey in some places that's a delicacy.

 

 

[Tortuga]

36 minutes ago, Dove said:

There was a time where in the middle of the meeting a brother burst in from the back door of the hall shouting, 'the Great Tribulation has begun!' 

Everyone was so shook up that the elders never did anything like that again.

I remember my first thought was , 'I wish I'd gone out in Service more'..

I remember a brother getting up on stage and announcing that he was actually an undercover agent and we were all under arrest! 

[dove]

15 minutes ago, Mephibosheth said:

I remember a brother getting up on stage and announcing that he was actually an undercover agent and we were all under arrest! 

I think that would have to be worse..!

Edited July 17, 2020 by Dove

[EccentricM]

15 minutes ago, Mephibosheth said:

I remember a brother getting up on stage and announcing that he was actually an undercover agent and we were all under arrest! 

Are you in prison right now as you type?

[jwhess]

We used to have "props" stored in the wings at the back of the stage (or platform, if you like).  We had a door frame with a door, a cardboard TV, etc.  So during the midweek meeting, if the part called for demonstrating a door-to-door presentation, we had a door to knock on.  When we were stressing "tact" I remember a bad/good scenario reminding the brothers not to use "one-liners"  to "zing" and opposer.

 

The scene was an opposed householder who was getting angry.  The householder said, "I was born a Catholic, I will die a Catholic".  As he was going to shut the door, the brother says, "Who wants to be a dead Catholic?"  As he walks away, he turns to his partner and chuckles and says, "Well, I got him, didn't I?"  Then we follow the householder behind the door in conversation with his wife.  Then we see the next witness who calls on him 2 months later who receives the anger that has been brewing for 2 months.  the poor sister has no idea what is going on...🙂

[jwhess]

How about District or International Assemblies (now conventions)?  Do you remember when you would get a multi-page booklet outlining the 8 days of spiritual feeding and including pictures.  Here are some I have collected but I did not attend any before 1953...❤️

 

EDIT: yes I was at the Canadian one...👍

 

 

Edited July 17, 2020 by jwhess

[Friends just call me Ross]

The funniest memory I have of being out in Field Service is what happened when we were working in a territory nearby to where our farm is.  

 

I knocked at a door and a woman answered it and said, "Don't bother.  I know all about you, Roxanne!  And I know all about your religion too!"

 

I had to really struggle to keep a straight face because my name is Rosanne and not Roxanne.  

I was tempted to correct her, but, instead, I just wished her a nice day and returned to the car.

 

The other sisters asked how it went at the door and I told them that I had just been stoned.

 

They looked at me like I was nuts, until I explained that "The lady threw ROCKS-anne  at me."   

[dove]

14 minutes ago, jwhess said:

How about District or International Assemblies (now conventions)?  Do you remember when you would get a multi-page booklet outlining the 8 days of spiritual feeding and including pictures.  Here are some I have collected but I did not attend any before 1953...❤️

 

EDIT: yes I was at the Canadian one...👍

 

 

My, Br. Hess, you have accumulated enough literature and momentos over the years to start up a JW museum....😊 

[jwhess]

22 minutes ago, Dove said:

My, Br. Hess, you have accumulated enough literature and momentos over the years to start up a JW museum....😊 

I had the privilege to give some of my prized possessions to the Library at the Florida Palm Coast SKE school.  They took a car trunk full down there.  One of the brothers said that some of my material was duplicated so they forwarded to some of the African branches.  It made me feel real good (although I miss some of those irreplaceable items).

 

 

Edited July 17, 2020 by jwhess

[Old]

5 hours ago, cme said:

Does anyone remember in the preaching work putting your foot in the door?  Here in the NYC area thats what my mother did back in the late 50s early 60s.

I started publishing around 1950 and putting my foot in the door was never part of my training. 

[carlos]

5 hours ago, cme said:

Does anyone remember in the preaching work putting your foot in the door?  Here in the NYC area thats what my mother did back in the late 50s early 60s.

My parents, who learned the truth in the 70s, have told me of an elderly and very zealous brother at the time who would put his foot in the door and shout: "Goats! Gehenna awaits you!" Apparently that behavior was not unusual in previous decades, but at the time it really was, and nobody dared to go in service with that brother.

 

Sometimes when I read of priests persecuting our brothers or setting on mobs in the first half of the 20th century, I can't help wondering whether it was not partly due to those "tactless" methods. Or maybe it's the other way around, those radical methods were due to the animosity shown by the churches.

 

[Qapla]

I remember researching and writing our own Public Talks before the "outline" arrangement.

 

Also, we it was not unusual to have a "demonstration" in a Public Talk like we would have during the Service Meeting.

 

3 hours ago, jwhess said:

I had the privilege to give some of my prized possessions to the Library at the Florida Palm Coast SKE school.  They took a car trunk full down there.  One of the brothers said that some of my material was duplicated so they forwarded to some of the African branches.  It made me feel real good (although I miss some of those irreplaceable items).

 

 

 

That was very generous of you. I have not seen the Library since the renovation has been done - the last time I was there I was crawling on my knees hanging rubber base in the bedrooms.

 

We had a Brother in our Congregation back in the 60's up until his death. He had been serving in the ministry since he had been a small child - even serving in unassigned territory with his father. He had used the sound car, the phonograph, testimony cards and been part of several special campaigns at various Conventions. He still had his phonograph and demonstrated it at several meetings. He had "service bags" from some of the special campaigns. He had at least one copy of every tract ever printed up to that time. His personal library was quite impressive. He intended for the Congregation to receive it for our KH library when he died.

 

He had a daughter who had left the Truth and never returned. After his death she disposed of his entire library to keep the Congregation from getting it. She did not sell it - she destroyed it.

 

I can only imagine how he felt as he watched what she did with his theocratic possessions when she got the chance - as he began his new assignment after his death (yes, he partook)

 

 

[Hinata]

1 hour ago, carlos said:

who would put his foot in the door and shout: "Goats! Gehenna awaits you!"

 

I can imagine something like that (or at least something similar) during the hailstone message…

 

[Old]

1 hour ago, Qapla said:

I remember researching and writing our own Public Talks before the "outline" arrangement.

 

Also, we it was not unusual to have a "demonstration" in a Public Talk like we would have during the Service Meeting.

 

 

...

 

 

Before the outline arrangement? I know the outline arrangement was in place prior to 1954. I believe it started in the 1940s. It suppored the TMS which was to train in public speaking. My first public talk was I believe outline number 8  "Is  Science the savior of Mankind", or similar, (64 years ago my memory falters)  in 1956. I had seen a list of public talk outlines in 1952. I was totally surprised when brothers decided to make up their own public talks. Many were way out in left field. I was glad when we were instructed to just use the outlines provided.

There was a short time we were instructed to have demonstrations in our talks, that was, gatefully very brief.

[Qapla]

Perhaps I should have been a little clearer and phrased it, "before the Branch outline arrangement became the ONLY talks were to be given".

 

Yes, we had outlines provided but it was accepted that brothers could give their own talks - some of those older outlines were quite difficult to develop into a talk that sounded "natural" due to their subject material and design.

 

I had developed a talk about "meetings" that, among other things, demonstrated the difference between a "Congregation Meeting" and just "getting together" - even for something like field service.

 

When we got the information that, starting in January we were to only give talks using the outlines - I was requested to give that talk 3 of the 4 weeks in December before I couldn't give it again.

 

OH, and btw, these talks were the 60 minute talks  

[Miss Bea]

Back in the 70’s, when our congregation split, I donated my whole library to the hall. Then got to start over! 
Could we ever realize those books would, um, be put on the back shelf? 
I donated the second library I ended up with, but, kept a few classics. 
Our life is full of wonderful changes! 

[Tortuga]

I remember when the green bible had pictures of dinosaurs 😂

[Old]

3 minutes ago, Mephibosheth said:

I remember when the green bible had pictures of dinosaurs 😂

I just checked and it still does.

[jwhess]

1 hour ago, Mephibosheth said:

I remember when the green bible had pictures of dinosaurs 😂

There was a tradition in early mapmaking of putting dragons on the edges of maps.  This indicated unknown dangers "Here Be Dragons" was the key phrase.

Below is our "Green Bible" front inside cover (with dinosaur or dragon)  and an ancient map of Africa with the same.

 

 

[AH173]

I guess it's not the Kraken!

 

[jwhess]

17 minutes ago, AH173 said:

I guess it's not the Kraken!

 

Or as in Greek the Drakon.

Rev 12:9

And   was thrown   the   dragon

καὶ       ἐβλήθη         ὁ     δράκων  

kahee  ebalotho     ho    drakon

 

 

[AH173]

That area (where the serpent is at) was apart of the JW Broadcasting program (the Inside Story -148th Gilead graduation)  featuring Easter island and Robinson Crusoe island. I think

[jwhess]

Does anyone remember when we carried "ID" cards to identify us as Jehovah's Witnesses?

 

My first example was the back side of a "Testimony Card" from the 1940s (signed by Brother Knorr).

Second is my own ID from the time of the 1975-1985 period.

Third is a blank copy of the S-85 form from a later time that is no longer available (to be signed by the "Presiding Overseer")

There were others back in the 1950s and 60s that I remember but sadly do not have a copy.

 

 

 

[Cushi]

Who else had “goodie night” at the home book study?

 

I also remember getting fed at the conventions. Those sandwiches and danishes!

Edited July 18, 2020 by Brother Jack

[jwhess]

31 minutes ago, Brother Jack said:

Who else had “goodie night” at the home book study?

 

I also remember getting fed at the conventions. Those sandwiches and danishes!

Someone earlier mentioned "Food Tickets".  From the 1970s to the 1990s we used thin cardboard "tear-off" tickets sold in strips of $1.00 or a package of $10.00

Over the years we quit putting a face value on them.  When we first started, they made an announcement during the convention that you could not use these tickets in the various restaurants around town...only at the convention arena...

 

The first year My wife and I were sitting in the stands when the lunch break came.  there was an older brother (70's or 80's) sitting just behind us.  He was holding a pack of tickets and looking very confused.  I asked him if he wanted me to get his lunch for him.  He smiled and said Yes.  He gave me his tickets and I got the boxed take-out lunch and brought it back to him.  He was used to standing in line at the cafeteria with a metal tray and could not figure out this new system...❤️

 

These samples include a Circuit Assembly.  For those not familiar with the tickets, they were about 1 1/2 inches wide and 5 1/2 - 6 inches long