What's the deal with Cheese and Apple Danishes at conventions.

pistolpete

This was before my time, but there was this post that had 308 comments testifying that the best thing of being a Jehovah Witness back in the day was the Convention's meals.

Is this True?

One quote out of 308;

I've been unable to recapture the nostalgia of that cheese danish, no danish tastes the same as it did back then. Definitely the highlight of assemblies and conventions. That and that frozen slushy orange juice cup with a foil top.-----AND THE PUDDING

https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/sqg0p3/you_know/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

When I was a teenager (circa 1978), the best thing about the conventions was waking around finding joints that was lost the night before at a rock concert. You could find them along the walls where either a push broom or some electric sweeper pushed them aside.

Then they had to build Assembly Halls. The assemblies made so much more sense stoned.

BluesBrother

Hmmm... as for assembly food, in the U.K. we used to always grumble about it. When I was young we used to queue to stand in a tent to have food plopped into compartmental Trays . A careless server meant that you had some gravy in your desert .. and for the tables were made for an adult to stand next to and eat , so if you were a kid your meal was level with your nose !

Over the years the service improved but the food didn’t. We still grumbled but then they took it away and we had nothing bar what we could take. Then we kept saying how we wanted the hot food back !

RULES & REGULATIONS

I was baptized in 1976 at an outdoor summer convention. Sitting outside in smoking hot sun with no shade listening to boring talks and monotone speakers, dressed with a suit and tie, audio you could barely hear because of winds blowing, kids crying, umbrellas blocking your view from inconsiderate members ( I KNOW IT'S HOT ), seats that were hard to find because families would save for late arrival members, and watching higher ups sit in the air-conditioned sections.

You didn't need to bring a lunch. You purchased tickets to pay for your lunch. You stood in line and asked for cheap soda ( Shasta ), cold pudding, fruit, a cold ham or cheese sandwich and a danish. I don't ever remember the roast beef sandwich. If you had unused tickets, you were out of luck.

cleanideas

I remember it was around 1980 in the USA. The breakfast sandwich was an egg McMuffin called muffin n egg, it to this day was the best egg McMuffin I've ever eaten. I would get 2 every morning of the convention, and that was a lot as I was 6 at the time. I even loved listening to the sound of the tiny crumbs hitting the aluminum foil as I ate them. We had yummy burritos at lunch time or ham sandwich, and I'll always keep a warm spot in my heart for the chocolate pudding and danishes. It was also the only time during the whole year my mother would let me drink soda. I greedily would chug as many Shasta's as I could get my hands on. Haha! Yes the food was the ONLY thing worth remembering at those boring conventions.

Foolednomore

How about those hot sandwiches at Hollywood Race track back in the day?

OneEyedJoe

Yeah the danishes were easily the best part of being a JW. It wasn't exactly a high bar, though.

They weren't anything special, the redditer is just falling prey to typical nostalgia. The danishes were pretty similar to what you'll find in a vending machine or a gas station.

Simon

Our circuit used to have sit-down meals with waitress service (this was at Northenden Assembly Hall in Manchester). The first thing you did when you arrived was buy your meal ticket, which was assigned a letter for the sitting you were assigned.

Of course it was horrendously inefficient, so meals would still be being served as the afternoon sessions started. During a talk, someone would walk onto the platform and put a letter on a board and loads of people would get up to go have their lunch. You queued up round the back stairs, it took ages, but I remember the food being great.

Later, they had a more food-court / booth setup and the main attraction was a donut machine. The were delicious too, and of course it was hypnotic to watch.

Assemblies lost all their quirkiness and charm, now I suspect they are the same the world over, with no local innovation and little appeal.

dropoffyourkeylee

The assembly food disappeared about the same time the donation-for-literature started (1990 in the US). I reckon the taking of money for food fell into the same legal issue.

I was always surprised they never had (to my knowledge) a food poisoning event. Large church gatherings have always been susceptible to food quality issues.

MeanMrMustard

The first thing you did when you arrived was buy your meal ticket, which was assigned a letter for the sitting you were assigned.

My father gave me some of his old suit coats a few years back. In the pocket we found some of the meal tickets. When he started his fade, he kept the jackets for occasions that required formal dress. But, for the most part, he hung them up and forgot about them. It was an interesting find.

Our curcuit assembly hall had an iced cream shop, and anyone could just go ask for a soft serve cone, no charge. Lunches were good times.