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We have been looking at the published memories of Ruby Stone Hughes, who wrote about her childhood in the Bluff Springs community on the Cumberland River. The community was small, but for a while it had its own one room school and a small country store. But, the Stone family would go to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in the neighboring Providence community.

Ruby realized the importance of the church in her community.

She wrote, 鈥淭he church certainly was the backbone of the community.鈥�

Attending the Sunday service began the evening before!

鈥淥n Saturday we began preparing for Sunday ... Saturday night was a time for scrubbing in a large washtub. In the winter it was brought into the kitchen where there was a good fire in the (wood burning iron) stove. Extra kettles of water were heating in the fireplace as each of us took our turn bathing.鈥�

With few opportunities to visit with neighbors during the week, men and women both looked for any excuse to get out of the house and be with their fellow residents of the community.

鈥淎lmost all of the neighbors in the community gathered at the church. When we arrived the men would hitch the horses and then stop in the churchyard to visit and exchange views on crops and things about the farm. The women went inside ... they too had a good time chatting before the service began. We children were supposed to be quiet and, for sure, not muss up our Sunday clothes.鈥�

Children of the past were prone to squirming in their seats, just as they are today, so to keep them occupied, 鈥淲e children were given little cards with colored picture of Jesus and the disciples and other stories from the Bible.鈥�

Our county archives has several of these small cards in our collection of paper items from the past. Most of these had a short Bible story on one side, and on the other side, an advertisement for a patent medicine with the name of a local druggist who sold the 鈥渃ure all.鈥�

Despite the free entertainment, Ruby noted, 鈥淲e always thought the sermon was too long.鈥�

It wasn鈥檛 unusual for the Stone family to have members of their extended family or the preacher over to their house after services. Ruby was always excited to have company, especially if the visitors had children. Then, after lunch and before she could play with the other children, she and her brothers would have to change out of their 鈥楽unday clothes鈥� and into their everyday attire.

Ruby attended her first tent revival in the fall of 1910.

A tent revival was the opportunity for a church to invite the whole community, regardless of what church they might regularly attend, to services. A large tent would be set up in a freshly cut field close by the church, and the revival might be held every night for a week, or at least for a weekend. Usually, a special preacher from out of town would hold the services, which helped bring out a crown.

The purpose of the revival was to 鈥榬evive鈥� a person鈥檚 faith with forceful preaching and lots of singing.

Ruby wrote, 鈥淪ome of the songs I liked best were, 鈥淭he Great Judgement Morning,鈥� 鈥淛ust Inside the Eastern Gate,鈥� 鈥淲here the Living Waters Flow,鈥� and others.鈥�

As quoted earlier, Ruby says, 鈥淚t was a time of praying, crying and shouting.鈥�

Then, Ruby added this. 鈥淭o me, as a child, it seemed rather sad. Now, as I look back, I can see it was a time when the lost people were gloriously saved.鈥�

A good revival brought people down front to 鈥渂e saved.鈥�

At the end of a revival, the preacher would proclaim how many 鈥榣ost souls鈥� had been saved and there would be shouts of 鈥淧raise the Lord鈥� and 鈥淕lory Hallelujah鈥�, and a few tears would be shed...just as little Ruby said, 鈥�...a time of praying, crying and shouting.鈥�