Hammond’s Mission by Dianne Dent Wilcox Gospel Sings highlighted Southern lives from around 1930-1980. They involved local and traveling groups, largely formed by family members, who visited local congregations to sing four, five, six, seven and eight part harmony. Choruses repeated. Hands stretched to heaven. Tenors competed for the highest notes, and basses growled the low. Audiences sat for hours enthralled by performances pushing them closer to Heaven. My father attended Rock Springs Primitive Baptist Church, and later Sharp’s Chapel in Toombs County, Georgia. Religious diligence for his generation meant sitting in the choir loft with a wasp up his pants leg, enduring the stings, and attempting to crush the offender, without changing his polite, devoted, acceptable facial expression. There came a time when he would attend no church, but he did not miss The Sunday morning Gospel Singing Jubilee on Channel 13. Community support for these events grew. The program for the 3rd Annual Gospel Sing at Charles Wood Memorial Stadium in Vidalia, includes ads for the Quint Shrine Club, Estroff’s, Uvalda Feed & Grain, Inc., Dyke’s IGA Supermarket, Meadows and Thomas Fertilizer, Cedar Crossing Sportswear, Rush Distributors, McLemore’s Abattoir, Alston Saw Shop, and Sheriff Charles Durst of Toombs County. A Macon program, from 1966, was sponsored by the Fire Department and features a photograph of every employee, including the secretary. Macon’s mayor sang. The pinnacle of this movement involves The All Night Sing. I attended one at Macon’s City Auditorium. Fifth grade classmate, Dennis Sego, grew up around The Sego Brothers and Naomi. As Dennis and his sisters reached singing age, their father established The Lamar Sego Family. He home schooled the children so they could travel. My husband grew up listening to his uncle (Probate Judge, Wilcox County) Steve Harvey and that powerful bass voice. We both remember entering sings at 7 or 8 p.m. and emerging to the light of new day. Around 1977, I attended a similar sing at Hammond’s Mission, Toombs County. On Sunday, November 10th, I’ll return. My husband will deliver the Homecoming message …..and we’ll sing. The service starts at 10:30 a.m.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 02:19:43 +0000
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