What I remember about the first trip was the coolness and smell of fine wood particles created by sawing—these wood particles used for the flooring. I sat on the first pew, flip flops off, toes 2 inches in sawdust, wiggling back and forth under the arbor. The experience was all new to me, and I was taking it all in -slowly. I never smelt sawdust before, let alone walked on it. It’s a smell I can’t define. I know that it does not smell like trees, even though one would think it would. For some strange reason, it did not feel like splinters. Why does it not feel like splinters? It was surprisingly soft.
The sawdust floors were standard at tent revivals; in fact, sawdust floors were typical in early American architecture.
In the middle of Tucker Grove campground sits the arbor. Built-in 1847 by freed slaves, this structure is built entirely without nails. The former slaves would go deep into the woods looking for the tallest trees. They would cut them down, and that would be the actual width of the arbor.
The arbor is the central meeting point -where God and man meet and greet. Lots of hand-clapping, preaching, shouting and singing, and just like that, the move of God reached way down and physically disturb your soul…yes Lord!.. Yes Lord, thank you Lord…oh… yes Lord; the shouts of joy over the drums and guitar steady melodic beat.
Surrounding the arbor are structures neatly arranged in an oblong square, affectionately referred to as tents.
The tents stand strong, proud, and tall, with the full display of its history passed down from generations. Each has its unique trait. Built with-discolored metal, tin, and other materials, they are two-story, dirt floor tents with inviting covered porches that encourage one to stay awhile and have a chat. Scraps of wood patched the side walls allowing sunlight as well as creepy creatures into the tent. But the inside displays the amenities of any five-star hotel, including sawdust floors.
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“Brudder, keep your lamp trimmin’ and a-burnin’”
Man from Issachar 