Sunday All Day Singing and Dinner On the Grounds

Do you remember Sunday with all day singing and dinner on the grounds?

Plywood would be stretched across saw bucks, and white sheets draped over those for tablecloths.

Every woman put her best foot forward. She'd fret as soon as plans were announced about what she was going to cook to bring for dinner. Women would get on the party line and share what they were thinking of bringing, because they didn't want to bring chicken if Sister So-and-So was bringing it! Why that wouldn't work! Unless Sister So-and-So was bringing fried chicken, so then the other could bring barbecued chicken! And it was okay to bring extra macaroni or potater salad, cuz well, you can never have too much potater salad!

And the desserts! Blackberry cobbler, apple pie, coconut cake, lemon meringue pie, rhubarb pie, and peach cobbler, and chocolate devil's food cake (everyone had to have some devils food cake!), and pineapple upside down cake! (I'm making your mouth water just thinking about it, huh?)

Kind of reminds you of Grandpa Jones on Hee-Haw as he'd tell you what was for dinner, as he looked through that paneless window frame. Doesn't it?

No soda pop back then. But there was Kool-Aid and iced tea by the gallons. Literally by the gallons! Mom's would save those big one gallon pickle jars and make iced tea in them. Perfect with their screw top lids, cause you could transport it to church without ever spilling a drop! On occasion, if it wasn't too hot, some of the ladies brought pitcher's of fresh buttermilk! What you mean you ain't had buttermilk and cornbread together? Better'n any dessert you can buy!

Those make-shift tables literally groaned under the weight of all the food, as they sat beneath the big trees behind the church. No tables to sit at. Families brought quilts, and spread them out in the shade of the big old oak trees, and children would scamper about and play, stop long enough to plop down and take a bite of something, to scamper away to play some more. No need to keep a close eye on the youngin's. Every Mama there watched out for everybody else's youngin'. It was just the way it was back then.

And after the meal was over, and women would take their aprons off, and lean back on their palms on the quilt, Daddy's would unbutton the waist-band of their Sunday trousers, and belch quietly. And the preacher would get up, and say he was only going to say a few words, cause he wanted to let the singers have their day. But even with his good intentions, a little preaching slipped through anyways.

And then, as everyone relaxed, a group of singers would get up and stand on a makeshift stage. Banjo's, and guitars, and mandolins, and squeeze boxes, and zither's would come out. Occasionally there's even be a thimble with a washboard. Sometimes a big ol' bass. And the music would fill the hills and hollers. And for just a few hours, you thought you'd done died and gone to heaven, cause even the angels couldn't have done a better job! And every now and then, Sister So-and-So would get up, and the Spirit would move and she'd flat foot for the Lord! Yes sir, there'd be dancing for the Lord! And somebody would let a yell, "Glory! Glory! Glory!" And pretty soon, even the littlest youngin' would holler out "Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!"

Let's have a little of that singing now!