| Christmas at Pee Dee Pentecostal Holiness Church Years Ago by Joel Bailey |
Oh, the memories of Christmas at Church. As a kid, I guess this was one
of the greatest highlights of the Christmas season.
The old Pee Dee Pentecostal Holiness Church used to sit on top of the
hill, behind the current Baptist and Presbyterian churches at the bottom
of the hill now. Oh, the church is still there but it has been remodeled.
The church I remember disappeared years ago - and a lot of the
memories are gone too. But I am going to try to paint you a picture of
how it was when I attended there in my early childhood, from 8 to 12 yrs
old.
My Sunday School teacher was Mrs Rebbeca Bullard. She was a very nice
lady but I know we gave her a hard time of it, trying to instill the Bible
and all its meanings to us. But when you have the likes of Jerry Avant,
Allen Avant, Robert Baxley, my brothers, Butch Presley, Johnny and
Nelson Sheppard -just to mention a few - well, needless to say, she had
her hands full.
Most Sundays our parents would rather us be in Sunday School than
preaching, since during the service most of us were too active to listen to
the minister. And, some (including yours truly), were eventually made to
leave the service if we got too loud.
But what I really miss is the Christmas Eve services at church. Mrs
Bullard would always make sure that all the kids had a present under the
tree at church or maybe two. Now, the tree was not a small one. It was
always huge and had plenty garland, bulbs, and lights on. And what really
made it special was to see on Christmas Eve night bags and bags of
fruits to be handed out to anyone who attended the service. These fruit
bags were jammed full of tangerines, oranges, apples, nuts of all kind,
and, of course, CANDY. They would have all the men of the church down
in front calling out names and the kids would run as fast as they could to
get their gifts and fruit bags.
Before all this had taken place, however, we had a great Christmas Eve
service. My Dad, Az Jenkins, Sam Coble, Oscar Avant, Rev Baxley, Marie
Avant, Mr Sheppard, and many others in the church would always put on a
play portraying the birth of Jesus. Of course, Jesse Sheppard would
always play and sing with his guitar.
After Mom and Dad took us home, we would hurry and get in bed
because we knew the sooner we got to sleep, the sooner we would wake
up and see what Santa had brought.
One Christmas Eve after we got home, I remember that I had the
surefire way of checking to see if Santa was real. I knew if Mom and
Dad were Santa, they would have to get in the car after we went to
sleep and go get the toys, wherever they were. So I went outside and
drew a big circle around the car, knowing the next morning if they had to
go get the toys, I would be able to tell that they had left. But I was
disappointed the next morning because the car had not moved all night.
Of course, I really didn't mind - as long as I got something good from
Santa.
of the greatest highlights of the Christmas season.
The old Pee Dee Pentecostal Holiness Church used to sit on top of the
hill, behind the current Baptist and Presbyterian churches at the bottom
of the hill now. Oh, the church is still there but it has been remodeled.
The church I remember disappeared years ago - and a lot of the
memories are gone too. But I am going to try to paint you a picture of
how it was when I attended there in my early childhood, from 8 to 12 yrs
old.
My Sunday School teacher was Mrs Rebbeca Bullard. She was a very nice
lady but I know we gave her a hard time of it, trying to instill the Bible
and all its meanings to us. But when you have the likes of Jerry Avant,
Allen Avant, Robert Baxley, my brothers, Butch Presley, Johnny and
Nelson Sheppard -just to mention a few - well, needless to say, she had
her hands full.
Most Sundays our parents would rather us be in Sunday School than
preaching, since during the service most of us were too active to listen to
the minister. And, some (including yours truly), were eventually made to
leave the service if we got too loud.
But what I really miss is the Christmas Eve services at church. Mrs
Bullard would always make sure that all the kids had a present under the
tree at church or maybe two. Now, the tree was not a small one. It was
always huge and had plenty garland, bulbs, and lights on. And what really
made it special was to see on Christmas Eve night bags and bags of
fruits to be handed out to anyone who attended the service. These fruit
bags were jammed full of tangerines, oranges, apples, nuts of all kind,
and, of course, CANDY. They would have all the men of the church down
in front calling out names and the kids would run as fast as they could to
get their gifts and fruit bags.
Before all this had taken place, however, we had a great Christmas Eve
service. My Dad, Az Jenkins, Sam Coble, Oscar Avant, Rev Baxley, Marie
Avant, Mr Sheppard, and many others in the church would always put on a
play portraying the birth of Jesus. Of course, Jesse Sheppard would
always play and sing with his guitar.
After Mom and Dad took us home, we would hurry and get in bed
because we knew the sooner we got to sleep, the sooner we would wake
up and see what Santa had brought.
One Christmas Eve after we got home, I remember that I had the
surefire way of checking to see if Santa was real. I knew if Mom and
Dad were Santa, they would have to get in the car after we went to
sleep and go get the toys, wherever they were. So I went outside and
drew a big circle around the car, knowing the next morning if they had to
go get the toys, I would be able to tell that they had left. But I was
disappointed the next morning because the car had not moved all night.
Of course, I really didn't mind - as long as I got something good from
Santa.
| So, as the Train of Life keeps chugging along, another page written of my Childhood Memories of.... Rockingham Remembered. |
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