Memories of 8 day conventions

by monkeyman 32 Replies latest jw friends

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  monkeyman

  I dont know if this has been talked about before but I've seen it recently mentioned so I thought I'd ask and get the good and bad dirt.

  First, who was the nut who thought this up? 8 days???? Are you kidding me? Why not 10? Were they thinking that if 4 is good, 8 would be better?

  When these bad boys were going on I was in my teens so I didn't have much to sacrifice like job, vacation, huge expense. So my memories aren't that bad. So anyway, I'll start. Here goes.

  One of the things that struck me at the time was that people's attitudes seemed to change around day 4. (Don't forget, I was 16) But the change was good. I never could understand this. I thought it would be the other way around. But you would come every day and sit in the same vicinity and mind your own business.

  But by day 4 that got old and you'd see people start talking to strangers. Heck, there wasn't much else to do. But it was nice to meet new friends. I don't see that anymore.

  Another thing that I noticed was when people lined up for meals. It seemed to me that early on, people seemed to jostle and shove in line. But by day 4 again that seemed to stop and people were more considerate when in line for food.

  I also remember listening to F Franz drone on into the night welllllll after 9pm. They would send some guy out to somehow give him a high sign on being overtime. Didn't work. So that guy stood out there with Fred way into the night. Weird.

  Anyway, these are the memories of a 16 yr old.
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  Opus92

  I think I would have left much sooner if I had been subjected to 8 days of that. One weekend was more than enough for me.
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  Wasanelder Once

  I was VERY young and don't remember them as well. I do remember the whole standing at tables to eat along side a thousand others under a tent. For us it was an adventure. Of course we couldn't make sense of the talks, the speakers echoed and were so bad it was a waste of time. My folks weren't baptized and so we only attended the last few days. There was a closeness that does not exist any longer. It has become a corporate sponsored event that is so streamlined and formulaic they could just play a tape recording of the whole thing and have the same level of intimacy and freshness that the drones regurgitate. At least we wore paper hats and oversized white aprons while got to wash pots with all our friends during the program. W.Once
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  greenhornet

  I remember the paper hats. I remember it was getting dark at Yankee stadium and they turned on the outfield lights and people went ohhhh.

  I do remember the food tents. I remember walking around with a tray that held sno cones. I walk around I shooted sno cones, sno cones Five Cents!!

  It was differant back then. Or maybe it has not changed because I was young at the time. I remeber the long talks and the long prayers. I remeber the people on the subway platform were walking during the prayer and I thought that was bad,,
• 

  Farkel

  The 1958 International Assembly of Jehovah's Witnesses was the quintessential WT 8 day assembly. My parents drove from Salt Lake City Utah to New York City to attend it. I was ten years old and they were merciful enough to leave me behind.

  They filled up Yankee Stadium and the Polo Grounds and had zillions of tent camps and logistics AND delivered a pile of useless bullshit information to the masses. But the book-selling campaign was a huge success!

  There were eight, count them EIGHT new and soon to be obsolete books they released at that wonderful gathering. Not only would Americans be screwed by buying their soon-to-be-worthless books, people attending from over eighty Countries would be screwed by buying their soon-to-be-worthless books. And the peoples bought them anyway. And they marveled at them. And then they became obsolete. And then they bought NEW books and marveled at them at the NEXT convention. And then THEY became obsolete. And then at the NEXT assembly they bought NEW books and then they...

  I'm repeating myself here. Sorry.

  Farkel
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  Leolaia

  Man, and I thought those 5-day conventions of the '70s were loooong. At least the one I went to had ponies.
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  moggy lover

  Was the 1958 assembly eight days?

  I remember going to it because I was all of 16, had just been baptized the year before, and like the eager beaver I was, I scurried around doing all I could to give a hand. Mostly I was in the washing up brigade. The motto was: First in, last out, and it seemed like it.

  We had to get in early to set everything up, and then dismantle everything for the washing up after eating. I must have loved it if I can't remember it being eight days. I have always felt in the vague recesses of my memory, that it was five days. Oh well, the ole memory isn't what it used to be.

  I....I.... crumbs!.... I've forgotten what I was saying....OK OK... Just kidding just kidding.

  I remember at least two publications that were released. There was the Daniel book, "Your Will be Done on Earth" and "From Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained" It was a release particularly designed for children due to its many rather crude illustrations, and in retrospect, means it was in fact designed for the mass rank and file.

  I remember being among the vast herd of Watchtower followers who plagued the local newstand after each day, especially the day of the baptism because the local news would print a special edition for those who were "delegates" at the assembly.

  It was great to be young, child-like, innocent and alive at that time, and magic to believe what only in later years we came to realize was a web of deceit, woven by a conniving leadership.
• 

  Bangalore

  I thought that cruel and unusual punishment was against the law.

  Bangalore
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  Jim_TX

  Well, I am a bit younger... I only (barely) remember the long assembly in... was it 1969? (See... my memory is failing).

  There were several International assemblies in the U.S. that year. I seem to remember the two that we had to decide on... Kansas City, MO, and Atlanta, GA (if I recall correctly). We went north to Missouri.

  Yes, it seems that that assembly was about 8 days... but maybe it was only 5 - and seemed like 8.

  The site was in a ballpark - can't tell you which one... and the parking, and surrounding neighborhood was scary - a poor part of town.

  It rained while we were there - sitting in the bleachers... getting wet.

  A long time ago.
• 

  designs

  1963 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena Ca.. 'Everlasting Good News' Assembly. +100,000 attendance.

  Worked in the kitchen, served three meals a day. Actually it was fun.