'63 Convention - Rose Bowl fiasco

Gregor

This was one of those 7 (?) day ordeals. The Pasadena Rose Bowl is in a canyon and this was dead summer, temps. near 100f. Over 100,000 in attendance. The stadium has no roof overhang anywhere. It was hell. The first aid station had several two man teams with army surplus stretchers running all over the place picking up people who had passed out. I was walking through one of the tunnels when a large black woman in front of me fell like a tree right on her face, whump! There were not enough radios for the attendants to call in for a stretcher team so somebody ran for help while we tried to help the poor woman. I think she must have broken her nose, blood everywhere. I was seventeen and it really shook me up.

This was in the days of full blown cafeteria food service. They had set up an army surplus field kitchen under tents in the parking lot. The sessions lasted all day and many people would wait in line in the sun for food the entire mid-day meal break and then get turned away when the afternoon session started.

Anyone else there?

blondie

We had ice water, big umbrellas, sun block, long sleeved cotton tops, and big hats and hand fans.. We brought our own food in a cooler (we were ahead of the time) because we had no money for cafeteria food. Gregor, you forgot to mention how cold the evening sessions were after the sun went down. One day it rained so hard there were cascades of water down the stadium seats (we did not go that day).

fokyc

I am sure that ALL 1963 summer conventions were actually 8 days!

Mornings on the service and sessions in the afternoons and evenings, I saw the program only a few days ago.

fokyc

dedpoet

7 days? You guys have my admiration, the longest dc I ever attended was 4 days, and most of the 8 I went to lasted 3.

I wouldn't say I'm thankful for ever being a jw, but I'm certainly thankful I missed out on the 7 or 8 day affairs, 3 was more than long enough for me.

JWdaughter

Wow, glad that was before my parents even married!!! My mom graduated HS that year!

BrentR

My parents told me all of the horror stories of that assembly. My mom was pregnat with me at the time. On the eighth day the very last speaker went way over time and my parents had to drive home to seattle that night. They did it in 20 hours and my dad went straight to work after getting home.

blondie

Normally, the evening session ended at 9 pm. I think that the final speaker was Knorr (or Fred Franz). This was the last convention of a worldwide serious of international assemblies that started in Milwaukee. I think Harold King was released from prison in China and came direct to speak to the convention. Fred Franz had a tendency to go overtime but the older JWs knew that he always speculated and spoke apart from the outline. They were always thinking that the end would be announced.

Blondie

lovelylil

I could barely sit through the 3 day conventions inside an air conditioned hall! Once when my hubby had some "old timers" in the org. over for dinner, they were telling us stories about the 7 day conventions. To my husbands embarrasment I responded by saying matter of factly "well, I know for sure I would NOT have attended any of those, and put my kids and myself through all that stress!" My hubby's face turned beet red! Lilly

garybuss

I was at the Santa Barbara district assembly in July 1964. It was at the fairgrounds right on the ocean and it was hot enough to fry eggs on the wooden seats during the day and as soon as the sun went down it was COLD! I wondered why all those people brought winter coats. I thought they were nuts until it got dark.

That's still my reference point for being cold. The coldest I ever been in my life was in California in July.

cruzanheart

It was Knorr, Blondie, and he went overtime by about 5 HOURS (or so it seemed -- it was at least 2 hours). God, that was awful. I was 7 years old, already a veteran of the 1958 conventions.

Nina

'63 Convention - Rose Bowl fiasco

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