Hokkaido Shrine Festival

Carpe Diem #840 Hokkaido Shrine Festival

There was only one, small church in the farming community where I lived.  Sure the folks could drive the extra 15 minutes to get into to town but why.  Your friends would all be at Sunday School and church.  The pastor was only at the church 2 of every 4 Sundays as it was a circuit church.  The Pastor would be at one of the other two churches that made up the circuit, Chambersville, Weston and Cottage Hill.  

The parsonage was in Weston, a town of about 300 souls.  Daddy wired the parsonage for electricity in the mid 1940's.  That was when REA was bringing electricity to the farming areas of the US.  Improvements were coming at record leaps during that period following the end of WWII.  Muddy lanes impassable during wet seasons were being graded, packed and covered in several inches of gravel.  Ditches were dug to carry the spring rains to the creeks.  

My Grandparents, Parents, two sisters, one aunt and a host of cousins
 are in the 1944 photo.  I was still just a gleam in Dad's eye.  

The country churches still had fair sized attendance in the 1940's.  Seventy five to eighty folks was a common attendance for the Chambersville church.  The prosperous farming community decided to build a new church to replace the old wooden building.  One fund raising idea was a Harvest Festival to be held the night before Thanksgiving.  The women would serve a meal of turkey, dressing, turnips, green beans, mashed potatoes, and all the other trimmings for a Thanksgiving meal.  The men of the community donated anything from a bale of cotton to pigs, cows, a trailer load of corn, whatever could be auctioned following the meal. The funds were raised, the building was build and Daddy helped wire the church.  The labor  was always free, donated as part of giving to the Lord.  

The church still stands.  It was built the year I was born.  The almost 70 years since the first Harvest Festival has seen so many changes.  Decreasing rural populations as more men and women took jobs having a sure weekly pay.  Mechanization removing the need for farmhands had its impact as well. Indoor plumbing was a pleasant addition! 

Still the women of the church and community gathered and made quilts.  Hundreds of homemade quilts were quilted and auctioned during the 70 years.  Single slices of pie auctioned for $25 back when a slice of pie was a quarter. Now Riat's cakes bring $250 because there is still a Harvest Festival.  There is still the traditional meal and auction.  All for the glory of the Lord of the believers.

oh, worshiped ones
reasons for celebrations
giving all great joy

©  Janice Adcock

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on 

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI