Remember when?

[dove]

3 minutes ago, Hinata said:

 

Are you talking about the on stage dramas? Those are something I actually remember. (Probably being the youngest here.) I think these were discontinued around 2013 or earlier. I have a fond memories of them, there are something to it that can not be replaced in the current movies.

 

All the costumes were hand made by the wives...😁

[dove]

4 minutes ago, EccentricM said:

We had them on stage, but mostly at conventions on a football field in a stadium in all weathers. There was one time where one of the characters mentioned that Jehovah was about to smite someone down and a pretty intense thunderstorm suddenly started so it was very immersive. 😄

Wow that's carrying special effects pretty far...

[jwhess]

21 minutes ago, Hinata said:

 

Are you talking about the on stage dramas? Those are something I actually remember. (Probably being the youngest here.) I think these were discontinued around 2013 or earlier. I have a fond memories of them, there are something to it that can not be replaced in the current movies.

 

Yes.  Many months of rehearsal, lip-syncing to audio tapes from the Branch and making costumes.  It was a great time.  Including the intro and concluding talk these dramas could be 1 1/2 to 2 hours long.

 

 

[dove]

I remember a convention one year in an outdoor stadium, as most conventions were in those days. It began to thunderstorm ,and lightening was flashing all around us. We didn't know to bring umbrellas, but someone gave us a strip of plastic to cover our heads. It was bad enough getting soaked, but I am terrified of lightening out in the open. 

 

But I  tried to concentrate on the speaker who was Br. Franz, under a little tent covering. He was as calm as could be. It was like  nothing was happening out there. I know he must have had total trust in Jehovah helping him to carry out this program. It helped me to stay in my seat but  it was pretty scary..

Edited July 20, 2020 by Dove

[jwhess]

26 minutes ago, jwhess said:

Yes.  Many months of rehearsal, lip-syncing to audio tapes from the Branch and making costumes.  It was a great time.  Including the intro and concluding talk these dramas could be 1 1/2 to 2 hours long.

 

ADDENDUM:  I just located my original 1970 audio tape for the Esther Drama that my wife and I were in.  The drama audio (not counting the intro and concluding talk part of the presentation was 1 hour and 27 minutes long.  Ah, the memories.  We still know our lines...❤️

[Gary910]

Since we are on the topic of "District Conventions". I remember one year at Dodger Stadium we had a significant earthquake before the session had started. I remember we had a small after-shock during the session. We all just sat there, and after it was over, we just went on as if nothing had happened.

 

Maybe Jehovah was trying to scare any trouble makers away...

[➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone]

 

 

 

Many months of rehearsal, lip-syncing to audio tapes from the Branch and making costumes.  It was a great time...

 

I still remember my first International Drama, Sydney 1974. I was the 'blind guy' that could now see. The good thing was - I had no lines to learn.

That was the first of 7 times on the 'Big' stage over the decades. But Sydney was the biggest. We were in the centre of a football field, and sat on chairs, waiting for our cue. (I took a camera with me to sneek some action shots)

 

Old (Downunder) Tone

 

 

 

[➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone]

For some reason after 1974, they always cast me as the 'bad guy'.

 

Old (Downunder) Tone

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Old]

2 hours ago, jwhess said:

Yes.  Many months of rehearsal, lip-syncing to audio tapes from the Branch and making costumes.  It was a great time.  Including the intro and concluding talk these dramas could be 1 1/2 to 2 hours long.

 

 

And the gestuere were under whelming, both hands up and down, up and down. Occasionlly someone would get assigned to produce the drama that had had a course in drama or theater. The improvement was beyond words.

[➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone]

And the gestuere were under whelming, both hands up and down, up and down. Occasionlly...

Ouch! We're you in Sydney?

Old (Downunder) Tone

[jwhess]

The Watchtower Library (DVD) has a list of all of the costume drams produced on stage and by video from 1966 to 2019.

Here is a brief excerpt (beginning and end):

 

*** dx86-20 Dramas ***

List by Year

1966, “God’s Sons of Liberty” District Assemblies:

Listen to Daniel’s Words for Our Day (sound only):

Look to the Bible as Our Guide in Life: yb93 203

See Jeremiah’s Endurance, Needed in Our Day: yb98 197

 

1967, “Disciple-Making” District Assemblies:

Jehovah’s Name to Be Declared in All the Earth (Moses, Ten Plagues, Exodus) (sound only):

Leaving the City of Refuge Means Loss of Life:

Let Us Conform Ourselves to God’s Eternal Principles:

 

1968, “Good News for All Nations” District Assemblies:

Do You Make Yourself Available? (Jephthah’s daughter):

Jehovah’s Way—The Way of Victory (Jephthah):

Trained to Distinguish Both Right and Wrong:

What Are You Doing With Your Life? (Abraham and Isaac, Jacob and Esau):

What Young Folks Are Doing in the Ministry:

 

1969, “Peace on Earth” International Assemblies: ....(note:eight days)

Are You a Modern-Day Jonah?:

Do Not Miss the Purpose of Jehovah’s Deliverance:

Fortify Yourself so as to Maintain Integrity:

“Let No Man Ever Look Down on Your Youth”:

Overseers, Carry On as Men!:

Show Respect for Jehovah’s Appointments (David, Saul):

Thorns and Traps Are in the Way of the Independent One (prodigal son): jv 175

Your Bible Questions Answered:

 

1970, “Men of Goodwill” District Assemblies:

Love Is a Perfect Bond of Union (Esther):

Who Needs Your Help?:

 

1971, “Divine Name” District Assemblies:

Families—Make Daily Bible Reading Your Way of Life! (three Hebrews): w99 1/15 9

Do Not Leave “the Love You Had at First” (Christians at end of first century): g 6/08 32

 “For This I Have Come Into the World” (Joh 18:37; Mt 21:23-46; 22:15-46) (sound only):

 

             Listings  of dramas continues through all years until 2019

 

2016, “Remain Loyal  to Jehovah!” Conventions:

“Hope for What We Do Not See” (family tragedies) (video):

“O Jehovah, . . . I Trust in You” (Hezekiah) (video):

 

2017, “Don’t Give Up!” Conventions:

Jehovah Delivers His People (Ex 3-7, 14, 15) (dramatic Bible reading):

Remember the Wife of Lot (Parts 1-3) (video):

 

2018, “Be Courageous”! Conventions:

“Be Courageous and Strong and Go to Work”! (1Ch 28:1-20; 1Sa 16:1-23; 17:1-51) (dramatic Bible reading):

The Story of Jonah—A Lesson in Courage and Mercy (Jon 1-4) (video):

 

2019, “Love Never Fails”! Conventions:

Jehovah Kept Showing Loyal Love (Joseph) (Ge 37:1-36; 39:1–47:12) (dramatic Bible reading):

The Story of Josiah: Love Jehovah; Hate What Is Bad—Parts I, II (video):

 

[Almost there]

Do you remember the cheese and apple danishes served during assembly lunch hour?

[Tortuga]

13 minutes ago, Almost there said:

Do you remember the cheese and apple danishes served during assembly lunch hour?

Yes!

I remember the bagels and cream cheese.  We use to call them Satan bagels because if you ate too many you felt bound for a 1000 years..  🤣

[Qapla]

The bagels and cream cheese reminded me of another treat - do you remember the chocolate and vanilla puddings? 

 

 

[AH173]

Since pudding was brought up, I remember when at our Willoughby, Ohio Assembly Hall an other brother and I was the Ice Cream (vanilla, chocolate and swirl) machine brothers.

 

That was an excellent assignment (close to 30 years ago)!🍦

🍨

 

[Eejay]

6 hours ago, Mephibosheth said:

Satan bagels

I used to be on a doughnut making machine at the assemblies long ago. We couldn't make enough of them, starting well before the sessions did because the brothers arrived for breakfast. We also made sponge cakes and other sweet items. One year a brother chocolate-coated some washing-up sponges and put them in with the regular cakes!.........................

[Miss Bea]

35 minutes ago, Qapla said:

The bagels and cream cheese reminded me of another treat - do you remember the chocolate and vanilla puddings? 

 

 

That is one of my softer memories. The kids, their green bibles, and tickled because they scored a chocolate pudding. 

[tekmantwo]

7 hours ago, Mephibosheth said:

Yes!

I remember the bagels and cream cheese.  We use to call them Satan bagels because if you ate too many you felt bound for a 1000 years..  🤣

I actually liked the burritos the best....

 

You remember when pops drove the bus to LA for the big assembly? We stayed, what, 6 days?

Remember sleeping on the Kingdom Hall floor?...

[Tortuga]

50 minutes ago, Eejay said:

I used to be on a doughnut making machine at the assemblies long ago. We couldn't make enough of them, starting well before the sessions did because the brothers arrived for breakfast.

My wife and I ran the ice cream machine at the Norco AH in southern California and when we moved to northern California we made donuts with that machine at the Yuba City AH. My first attempt looked like onion rings 🤣

[Tortuga]

15 minutes ago, tekmantwo said:

I actually liked the burritos the best....

 

You remember when pops drove the bus to LA for the big assembly? We stayed, what, 6 days?

Remember sleeping on the Kingdom Hall floor?...

Yuppers, I was thinking we spent the night in a KH in Inglewood. I remember turning the sound system on and waking up the whole family. 😂

[Qapla]

We never had an ice cream machine or a donut machine ... but we did have deck ovens that did a nice job cooking pizza

[Tortuga]

I remember spending the night at a racetrack in the Los Angeles area and they let the brothers use the showers. A brother and I were snooping around, we were teenagers, and we found a life size plastic horse, so naturally we carried it into the showers with us. Two brothers came in to talk to us (gulp) and one of them was so angry I thought he was going to pop. The other brother calmed him down while we put the horse back...🤣

[Tortuga]

I remember when the magazine page numbers were for the whole year, not just one magazine.  

[jwhess]

2 hours ago, AH173 said:

Since pudding was brought up, I remember when at our Willoughby, Ohio Assembly Hall an other brother and I was the Ice Cream (vanilla, chocolate and swirl) machine brothers.

 

That was an excellent assignment (close to 30 years ago)!🍦

🍨

 

The Willoughby Assembly Hall was in our congregation territory.  I first went to the Willoughby Cong in 1961, later to Eastlake Cong (which had the AH) and now they are merged and called the Wiloughby Cong again but meeting in the old Eastlake KH.  We left in 1982.

[jwhess]

In the 1950s and 1960s before we had Ice-ream Machines, we used to sell Popsicle and Dreamsicle products from freezers in the hallways at District Conventions for 10 cents.

 

The orange juice coating over the vanilla ice cream was the best.