Grandma, Juicy Fruit and Victory in Jesus

Every single Sunday morning in the 70s and early 80s, the Applegates, party-of-five, could be seen headed to Union Hill Baptist Church in Oldfield, Missouri.  We were undoubtedly in a station wagon listening to Merle Haggard or Hank Williams on KTTS. Notice I said listening, because I can assure you we were not doing much singing and we for sure were not fighting.  The Applegate kids were raised to be seen and not heard.  We didn't see much on the road to Union Hill.  It was a quiet ride. Lots of hills and crooked roads along the way.  I would always look at Linda and Jackie Wallace's house when we turned at their corner. Their son Lane recently posted a picture on facebook of that road and it took me a minute to process where it was. The photo brought back memories of those Sunday rides to our destination...Union Hill.  It' s been a few years since I've driven that route, but once I saw that photo, the vision of the little white church, that seemed to be out in the middle of nowhere, and the memories inside and outside of it came flooding back.

1. Juicy Fruit Gum-As I walked into church after Sunday School taught by Betty Sweppe and Donna Ruth Hull, I sat down in the same pew week after week. It was just a matter of minutes before one of us kids would ask Mother if we could go sit by Grandma Applegate. I can still see her sitting there now. As soon as we sat down, she would always grab her purse to get out a piece of gum. Juicy Fruit.  To this day, when I see juicy fruit or hear it's name, I'm taken back to sitting by her in that old, wooden church pew.  Years ago, Northside Baptist remodeled and my mother-in-law bought one of their pews. When I became a principal, she let me have it to take to school.  I still have it in the hallway. Sure, it's old and has a lot of scratches, but every single time I walk by it, I'm reminded of Robert's mom and the Sundays I got to sit by my grandma. As I sat in my comfortable, padded chair at First Baptist Church Sunday and heard Dave Marty ask his grandchild if he wanted gum, I leaned into Robert and said, "Sounds like Grandma Applegate offering me gum. I bet Dave's isn't Juicy Fruit though".  My mind drifted to simpler times when I chewed my gum, sat by my grandma on an old church pew and listened to my grandad preach.  I didn't realize at the time how special those Sundays were, but I bet my grandma did.

2. Hymnals-Victory in Jesus, Are you Washed in the Blood, Bringing in the Sheaves, Standing on the Promises, Power in the Blood, When the Roll is Called Up Yonder and many other hymnals were the songs I grew up listening to every Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night. I remember searching the pages trying to find each song in those old books.  The words weren't up on a screen and there was only a piano to accompany the congregation, but in those days, that was enough. A few years ago, a sweet mom at school gave me a Christmas present that took me back to those years. It was an angel made out of a church hymnal. I look at it everyday with a smile on my face. It sits beside the school books that belonged to Grandma Applegate. The angel reminds me of the old songs many of us growing up in the 70s learned to sing. I will admit, I love hearing contemporary music now, but I always smile and sing loud and proud when the old music is played. Those lyrics never leave you once you've learned them.  I can still see Ira Maggard leading the small choir at Union Hill pumping his fist with his thumb out with every song he lead. We recently sang Victory in Jesus and I felt like I was in Oldfield, Missouri again, if just for a few minutes.

3. Baptisms-I got saved in April when a young Bruce Love preached his first revival at Union Hill. My baptism took place in May but there was no baptismal back in 1979.  At Union Hill on that Sunday afternoon, the congregation just walked across the road to Swan Creek. It was a hot day, but the creek was freezing.  My Grandad Applegate baptized me and I remember the congregation singing Shall We Gather At The River after I came out of the water. I recently got re-baptized at First Baptist Church and as I entered the warm water in the baptismal, I remember thinking, "I'm definitely not in Swan Creek". Shall We Gather At The River was replaced by a new favorite though, "How Great is our God".

So many memories I could go on and on about from all those years ago in that sweet church. I remember the picture of Jesus hanging on the wall looking out at the congregation. I remember being excited and nervous every year on my birthday because, after the anniversaries had been acknowledged, it was time for those who had birthdays to take their money up to the preacher, put it in a can and listen to Happy Birthday being sung. I remember the sign on the wall that displayed the attendance each week and how much money had been given during the offering. I remember the Christmas programs and getting our brown paper bag with an orange and an apple in it when we left. I remember getting there early when mom and the other deacon's wives had to get the bread ready for the Lord's Supper. I remember going to grandma and grandads after church every Sunday and eating lunch and then often getting to pick gooseberries in the field across the road from church. I remember crying and Melanie Williams going with me to the altar the day I got saved. What stands out to you about the church you grew up in?  Have you thought about the impact it and the people inside those walls had on you? If the people are still around, let them know how you feel.  If I could go back to a Sunday in the 1970s, one more time I would. I would cherish every moment of my grandma, Juicy Fruit and Victory in Jesus.