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| The Parker County brush arbor preacher – Part 1 Wednesday, August 08, 2012 Laurie Moseley The Brush Arbor Preacher was written by Randall Scott. He used as his source History of Parker County written by Gladys Hall Westbrook. This is a story about Ed Hall, who lived in the Carter Community north of Weatherford, Texas.
“Ed's father, Peter, was a Church of Christ preacher and Chaplin in the Civil War and he influenced Ed to become a preacher. “Like father-like son,” he became known to all as Brother Ed. He was a charismatic, fun-loving, 'old-time-gospel-preacher' in the Church of Christ, and was dearly loved by everyone that knew him. “Ed and Minnie worked on their farm by day and attended church services on weekends. They traveled to different communities where Ed would preach under a tree or at a Brush Arbor meeting. (There were no buildings for church services in those early days.) He was a man dedicated to preaching the gospel. They went about their travels in a horse and buggy rig preaching all across Parker County and into neighboring counties. Wherever a Brush Arbor Meeting was held, Minnie and Brother Ed were there.
“What is a brush arbor? A brush arbor is a shelter constructed of poles erected vertically with a pole framework ceiling on top. Then, brush vegetation and tree limbs were added as a thatch overlay on top of the framework to complete the arbor. The poles could be reused the following year, but the vegetation quickly dried and deteriorated within a few weeks. “The primary use of arbors was to escape the Texas summertime heat when people gathered for a Meeting. Meetings were special occasions when preachers as guest speakers were invited to the area. This was usually a summertime event, and the members wanted to attend but not suffer the harsh Texas heat. An arbor was erected for the specific one-time use of protecting the audience and speakers for the duration of the meeting. The life of the arbor was but a short time, (a few weeks), and wasn't used again. To read the rest of the article, subscribe or purchase a copy of The Springtown Epigraph. |