| Old Tulsa County Court House 1941 |
As the small group of Bible Students continued to grow, (see blog on "who was first JW") the Stroud home became too small and a larger meeting place was needed. According to a Tulsa World article dated June 30, 1974, "a more central location was found in the basement of the old Tulsa County Court House. Impetus was given at that time to more house-to-house ministerial activity, and the growth continued.
With a thriving congregation in Tulsa, the Watchtower Society assigned it nearly all of north-central and northeast Oklahoma, stretching from Tahlequah to Blackwell. It was encouraged that every house holder be contacted in this huge area twice a year. 'Each week, a program was worked out for the towns to be covered," Claus* said. "All the members of the congregation would meet on the court house steps with bookbags packed with Bible literature, a good lunch and a water jug. They were ready to leave at 8 a.m. sharp and would get into six or eight automobiles and head into the territory.
It was nothing uncommon for the entire car group to come back without a single piece of literature left. I recall one trip when a group was on a two-day preaching trip and covered Hominy, Fairfax, Burbank and Shidler. Every car had placed every piece of literature they brought with them, and the count revealed an average of 30 Bibles, books and booklets.
By the 1940's, the Tulsa Congregation (West Unit) was responsible only for the city and its surrounding area. A Kingdom Hall was built at 440 N. Boston Ave. and used until taken for right-of-way needed for the Crosstown Expressway in 1966. "
This is where my mother first started attending the meetings in 1957. I was 4 years old. I don't think the building was air-conditioned, but we probably had heat. There was a baptismal pool behind the stage where I was privileged to see new brothers and sisters get baptized.
*Brother Arthur Claus - He was interviewed for the article in the Tulsa World, June 30, 1977
No comments:
Post a Comment