We have seen other postcard stories related to Camp Meetings:
Mr. James C. Gallagher lived in McSparran, a census-designated place at a crossroad in Fulton Township of southern Lancaster County, PA.
McSparran had a Post Office from 1887-1937.
This area was farmed by members of the McSparran family for several generations.
In August of 1910, James received a postcard from Mary.
The postcard was mailed from Port Deposit, an historic town on the east bank of the Susquehanna River in Cecil County of north-central Maryland.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Deposit,_Maryland
The town received its name because goods brought by Susquehanna rafts or barges could be deposited there for larger ships to load for transport across the nearby Chesapeake Bay.
(The Susquehanna is navigable for large ships only to Port Deposit.)
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The face of the postcard is an uncolored photograph of the Woodlawn Camp Ground.
Three men in dark suits stand before the rustic construction that may be a seating area.
Two of the men are older, and bearded; one supports himself with a cane.
It is not clear if this is bench-like seating, some covered and some open, or if the work is not yet completed.
(The photographs in the article below shows the arrangement of benches and tents.)
In the background, one can see a sample of the tents that would have housed the attendees.
The Woodlawn Camp Ground was established at Port Deposit by the Methodist Church in 1871.
Camp Meetings were held only in August, but they attracted large crowds, including political candidates.
The Camp had its own Post Office from 1895-1903)
The Camp disbanded in 1913, and a Maryland Historical Marker is all that remains of the site today.
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On the reverse, Mary describes a revolt by the “ringers” – who, I assume, are bell-ringers.
She writes, “Mr. O’Brian the preacher in charge of the young people had a fuss or misunderstanding about the ringing”.
Unexpectedly, “…every one left the choir platform and won’t ring for him.”
Mary concludes this vignette by saying, “he is cranky and old”.
The touchy preacher was called away to a funeral, so the postcard message ends happily:
“Every one of them are (sic) ringing and having a grand good time”.
One hopes that the rest of the Camp Meeting proceeded joyfully, with a full range of ringers.
