Show OLD FOLK FESTIVAL IS BIG QUARTERLY but religious pilgrimage has greatly changed today la die quarterly an undersized der sized dimmed and sophisticated big quarterly true but one of the few reil folk festivals still celebrated in our country for yeara on the last sunday in august a throng ot negroes once tumultuously devout and intensely emotional has streamed in to del by many roads in commemoration of the establishment there of the african union free colored methodist protestant church the formed by free negroes in 1811 it Is an occasion unique to the delmarva peninsula thousands came in other days many hundreds came today they gather all down the eastern sho all up through pennsylvania and new jersey from virginia and delaware in a religious pilgrimage that used to be comparable to the rom erias of spanish america in the begin nang big quarterly was strictly a church festival and its spiritual character was in the decor vm of the celebrants who arrived on foot or or in ox carts but with the years it became a gen oral homecoming for colored people of this large region a huge gay outing and reunion special trains were run from many points to accommodate the devotees nackman grew rich watermelons Water melons fried fish and roast ln airs disappeared by the ton one custard maker as in the green pastures would never have been adequate there were bare feet and slat sunbonnets sun bonnets gentlemen of any importance wore high silk hits it was a gorgeous vivid crowd that promenades promenaded french street forty years ago just about then the change the falling away began this sunday tan face powder and rosewood rouge plus fours and shirts instead of ceremonial toppers plenty of motor busses and private cars to save the pilgrims time the original animating ous fervor has departed observance Is perfunctory not exalting youth does not look wonderstruck wonder struck nor Is renewed the wining was in evitable evl table after the younger colored folk lost their strong devotion to church practice and turned to world ly emotional outlets A century ago big quarterly was for many of them the drop of honey in the tasteless comb now they share with all of us n surfeit of diversions of human contacts 0 omniscience new york berald tribune |