IMH 74:4, 324

"Chronicles of Upper Burnet" (1)

Sunday, October 3, 1880

A bigger crowd than usual gathered at "singin" this morning on account of an expected breeze in consequence of our attempt to have
one or two lessons at night but the matter was amicably arranged in our favor "singin" being announced for to-night As big a crowd
was out in the afternoon. I took my lantern with me expecting to stay until the night lesson. It began to rain about four o'clock but quit
till dark when it commenced again. But four came and they with the seven who staid went home in the rain about eight o'clock. Father
hunted ginseng once during the forenoon or about noon, and Alvin went "jooking"(9) after dinner getting caught in the first shower of
rain   It was warm before the rain.

Teaching Notes: Church was an all day affair in much of rural America. It was clearly the center of the social and political as well
as religious life of the community, a trend that endures in the 21st century. 2008 is an election year. It might be interesting to ask the
students what role religion plays in the national elections. You might also see if they can ascertain the meaning of "expected breeze."

The lamp that William Gregory carried was likely a  kerosene lamp. This might be an interesting time to discuss dialect and word
choice. In Southern Indiana (which has a large Southern influence--the Harrison family is an example), the word for word for kerosene
was "coal oil." A good reference book for your classroom would be Indiana Place Names (Paperback) by Ronald L. Baker
(Author) and Marvin Carmony (Author).