| Show OLD FOLK FESTIVAL IS BIG QUARTERLY but religious pilgrimage has greatly changed today Is big quarterly an undersized der sized dimmed and sophisticated I 1 rig R 1 g ar quarterly u true but one of the f few e w real folk festivals still aple berated in our country for years on tile the last sunday in august a throng of negroes negro cs once tumultuously devout and intensely emotional has streamed alre amod in to wilmington del by many roads in commemoration of the establishment there of 0 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 religions pilgrimage that used to be comparable to the romer las of spanish america in the beginning big quarterly was strictly a church festival and its spiritual character was obvious in the decorum of the celebrants who arrived on foot or mule hack or in ox carts but with the years it became a general homecoming for colored people of this large region a huge pay gay outing and reunion special trains were run from many points to accommodate the devotees Ilac blackmen kmen grew rich watermelons Water melons fried fish and ro boastin roast astin ln ears 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 bonneta bonnets gentlemen of any importance wore high silk hats it was a gorgeous vivid crowd that promenaded promenades french street forty years year 8 ago just about then the change the falling away began this sunday tan face powder and rosewood rouge plus fours and antibus antibes shirts instead of ceremonial toppers plenty of motor busses and private cars to save the pilgrims time the orl original ina I 1 animating religious fervor hits has departed observance Is perfunctory not exalting youth does docs not look wonderstruck wonder struck nor Is age renewed the waning was inevitable after the younger colored folk lost their strong devotion to church practice and turned to worldly 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 a surfeit of diversions of human contacts of omniscience new york torb herald tribune |
