When we moved here to the Cross Roads, there was nothing but the Brush Arbor. Everyone would sit on the ground most of the time. Later there was a little church with windows in it. You would open the windows and there were no screens to keep the bugs out, but everyone had a great time at church, shouting and praising the Lord.

Mr. Perkins would pick up people in his horse and wagon and bring them to the church. There was a poll tied up to the wagon with a lantern so the horse could see to get everyone home in the dark. He always had a load of people.

Before there were tables built to put food on, the ladies would spread mostly sheets on the ground. They didn’t have tablecloths, and everybody put their dinner out right there on the ground. They’d sit down around the sheet or get a plate and go off someplace to eat. Everybody had a good time. In fact, they seem to have a better time than we do.

At night they’d have prayer meeting and I do mean prayer meeting. Sometimes it lasted into the early morning. They met down in that low corner of the property to pray. The kids would just lay down and go to sleep.

The mosquitoes and other bugs weren’t as bad as they are now. You can’t get out during the day now without having to spray them to keep them off or you have to constantly slap at them. I don’t know where they all came from.

People would bring their guitars and fiddles to provide the music - even homemade drums that had cow stretched over something. Some of the guitars were even homemade.

Johnny Perkins worked in the paper mill in Panama. With any kind of house being built, he brought enough paper and put up a frame and balled it up with the papermill paper. That’s when they had the paper tabernacle built. There was a man that got so happy one night he ran out through the paper. (I can’t think of his name now.) He tore the paper tabernacle down.

At first there were no seats in the paper tabernacle. Later they finally got some cement blocks and put boards across them to make seats. The Young’ens was just sleep on the ground.