How many remember the 1969 8 day convention? (page 5)

troubled mind

I was at the Chicago covention too! I would have been 8 yrs.old . My mom took all four kids all by herself. My little sister was only one year old , I remember mom had her on a leash ,lol . Coming into the stadium the first day I was terrified by the enormous crowds. I was afraid I would get lost . Being that small in a crowd is sufficating. I rememeber seeing a guy steal another guys wallet right in front of me , from his rear pocket . Driving to Chicago my brothers put a Watchtower magazine in the rear window too. The only fun thing was getting to ride the L-train to the hotel everyday . We ate lots of bologna sandwiches and cereal with water mixed in it for breakfast. When we complained mom would remind us of the German family in our hall that had seven children, and not enough food. One day they ate leftovers found in the trash . My mom never missed a convention . My dad would harass her about going and then the day before she left he would give her extra money to make sure we had enough. Over the years we stayed in peoples homes , flea infested flop houses w/shared restrooms ,on up to really nice hotels during the starting in the late seventies. As hard as this must have been on her we never received help from the Elders in the hall ...not once did they offer to help with driving or the kids. When my oldest brother started riding w/his friends the elders started asking my mom to assist some other single sister with her brood since mom had a station wagon ! She always would help others ,but then we would suffer from her temper outbursts . Now as an adult I can appreciate how totally stressed out she must have been .

skeptic1914

I was 17 and at Yankee Stadium. What I remember is that my mother let me stay in a hotel in the city ALONE for a few days of the convention. Two things stand out as think about this: Why wasn't SHE at the convention? And why on earth did she think it OK for a 17 yr old boy to be alone in NYC?

I remember blowing off the convention one night and going to see "The Love Bug". I also remember the 100,000+ attendance and being on field during one session.

I have a couple vague memories of the 1958 convention too. Six at the time.

Skeptic1914

El Kabong

I was 6 years old and I remember taking the bus into NYC, then the subway to Yankee Stadium. The Subway was probably the best part of the whole experience. I remember we were sitting with the woman (Adele) who was giving my Mom the bible study at the time and being told to pay very close attention because Brother Knorr was giving a talk. All I remember about Brother Knorr's talk is that I was very bored.

mouthy

remember the crappy motel and>>>>> HEY pec!!!You were lucky! We were in Ottawa CAMPING!!!! it poured with rain & the tent leaked ,The brothers told us to go take our cots & sleep in the Tiolets .we did

Jim_TX

I was 13-1/2 at the time... we went to Kansas City.

My mom drove us there in an old 1952 DeSoto stretched car - with 3 seats (the kind you see in the old Bing Crosbie movies as taxis).

It's a wonder we got there - and back - without any car trouble. We stayed in a private home... in the basement - the bathtub was in the center of the basement with a shower curtain seperating it from the rest of the room.

An interesting experience.

Parking was in a poorer neighborhood - and we were worried each time that we parked there - that our vehicle would still be there - in tact - when we returned late at night.

Regards,

Jim TX

restrangled

I was about 10, holding an umbrella in Chicago, trying to stay awake in the heat. Those conventions went to 9:00 at night as I remember. I remember the lights...I think it was Hawthorne Park....the horse race track.

We were all exhausted, and had relatives staying with us for these great spiritual feasts. My father was working in the back supervising some important job ....like food distribution after spending 60 plus hours a week at work.

This is how they accomplished mind numbing control.....heat, lack of sleep, exhaustion, and loud microphone controlled talks to make sure you did not nod off......not that you were comprehending anything.....just the loud inflections of the speaker to jolt you into temporary awareness of your physical pain.

Is it any wonder so many are where they are at today?!!!!!!!

r

pratt1

I was there too. I was 8 years old and I hated it.

The hardest seats you could imagine, the weather was too hot or it rained.

This was back when they had live music. That's about the only good memory I have of the event.

We also had about 6 people from the mid west stay with us in our small apt. They were nice. 2 of the guys went out after the session and missed the next day's service.

I never found out what they did.

Probably explored the under belly on the city.....

tijkmo

In fact I beleive that one was seven days and the "Around the World Assembly " of 1963 was eight days, but I could be wrong..It was all a long time ago.

the 1969 peace on earth convention were 6 day - tuesday to sunday - in the uk....9 till 9 at night except sunday - finished at 5..and at wembley we didnt have a friday evening session cos the stadium was being used for greyhound racing.. and wed thurs fri there were scenic tours arranged in the morning.

i was 8..i loved it.

all the international delegates in their native costumes..dramas..lots of releases..2000+ baptised...follow the colour discs for your choice of meal...pouring rain...brilliant sunshine..trips to places of interest..(except on the thursday the bus drivers gave up so didnt get to bethel)..my dad was on the photography team so i got to go to the press boxes..he subsequently made a public talk slide presentation and all the local congs got to see it.)

absolutely tremendous...i was 8 and this was the organization i wanted to be a part of..

now what do we get....no food...everyone must dress the same..not there for sightseeing ..not allowd to have slide talks anymore..only approved delegates can go to international conventions..poor dramas..rehashed releases.can't can't can't can't can't..

hmmm

Dagney

I was at Dodger Stadium. Similar stories...but it seemed fun. Was this with the blinking giant heart and brain in one of the talks at night?

Anybody else...anybody????

Hortensia

Was it Dodger Stadium or the Rose Bowl in 1969? I went to conventions at both of them - Dodger stadium at least had a view. What I remember of Dodger Stadium was that I was way at one end of the stadium, and as it happened the way the sound system worked, everyone on the opposite side of the stadium heard the music first and so I heard the kingdom melodies sweep in a wave around the stadium until it reached me - gave me chills. What I remember about the Rose Bowl was the absolutely enormous and hideous traffic jam after it was over on Sunday afternoon - very few went to their cars early, so 114,000 people all headed out at the same time, and we sat in our car in a traffic jam just to get out of the parking lot until midnight or later. What a disaster.

so, whichever one it was, I was there in 1969, for the whole eight days. Don't remember the drama much, but I think it was in 1968 that they talked about masturbation in such detail I finally figured out what it is. Before that they were so obscure when they talked about it, I didn't pay attention. They went on about a lot of things that I didn't understand or care about, so I didn't pay attention quite often. But that one was an eye-opener!

How many remember the 1969 8 day convention?

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