Martin's Gospel Jubilee

When I was a kid in East Texas, my parents liked to go to gospel "singings,"  which featured lively vocal music in the Southern gospel style.  Recently one of our RV club members stumbled upon a private campground on Lake Sam Rayburn that hosts an annual gospel "jubilee," which is three days of camping out, eating and listening to gospel music performances.  The surprising thing is that it is absolutely free!  And our club was invited to attend.  

The owner, a wealthy Houston man (he invented the A-frame air conditioning coil) who acts as host, emcee for the performances, and some time performer.  He is a talented songwriter and poet.  He also has a large collection of classic cars in a museum that opens only when he is there.  He is often around to provide a personal tour and gave us a reading of a touching poem that he wrote about his father's hat.  The car collection includes an RV-like bus that Franklin Roosevelt used in his run for Governor of New York in the late 1920's.

The meals were high cal all the way -- fried catfish, barbecue, bacon, sausage, eggs, pancakes, and so on.  In addition, they served homemade ice cream every day as shown in the nearby photo. Note that the ice cream maker was powered by a restored antique one cylinder John Deere "hit and miss" engine.  By the end of the weekend, we were hitting the antacids pretty heavily. 

The music featured everything from amateur open mike performances to professional groups.  The music was all gospel, and much of it was in the bluegrass style.  There also several very good traditional gospel quartets. One of the performers was my old grade school buddy, Kenneth Ryan.  He played bass in a local bluegrass gospel group.  Neither had any idea that the other would be there.

Guests included Donna Douglas, who played Ellie May on the "Beverly Hillbillies" and Tom Lester, who played Eb on the "Green Acres" series.

It was a very good weekend, and we will probably go again next year.