Handley (Texas) Camp Meeting
By S. H. Lane
The time of this meeting was July 24 to August 3. Handley is a small village six miles from Ft. Worth, on the Texas and Pacific Railroad. An electric railroad connecting Ft. Worth and Dallas passes through Handley. The meeting was held in a beautiful grove belonging to the Electric Railroad Company. This company furnished the grove, lighting the same, also hauling all the camp equipage to and from Ft. Worth and Dallas. The grounds were supplied with water, and pasture was furnished free of charge for all the horses belonging to the campers, and round-trip tickets from Ft. Worth to Handley were sold for fifteen cents. On account of the liberality of the Electric Company, hundreds from these two cities attended the meeting. Many came in from the country, so the attendance of those not of our faith was large. There were one hundred and twenty family tents, occupied by fully seven hundred campers. Texas has suffered seriously this season by a severe drought, which caused the wheat and corn crop to be almost complete failures. The drought continued up to within one week of the camp meeting, when copious rains fell in nearly every portion of the State. Cloud-bursts and floods became numerous, the rain continuing during the first week of the meeting. The incessant rains put the roads in an almost impassable condition for loaded teams, which prevented some from attending the meeting, and delayed others. The cotton, being to some extent a dry-weather plant, was not materially injured by the drought; and since rain has come, the crop promises to be an abundant one, the largest in years. Our brethren are of good cheer, and are in earnest to spread the truth by the sale of our literature; and the prospects for more canvassers in the field are excellent. From the first, the meetings were good. We kept the special truths for these times before the people, and at the close of each evening meeting sold packages of our tracts; and as the people purchased them freely, it seemed much as it did years ago. The revival efforts were successful, and at times it seemed as if we were receiving a shower of the latter rain. Quite a number made a start in the Christian life for the first time. At the close of the meeting thirty willing souls were buried with the Lord in baptism. The business meetings of the conference passed off harmoniously. Elder W. A. McCutchen was re-elected president of the conference. The laborers present from outside of the conference were Elders Rupert, Haffner, and Fields, and the writer. The educational work was presented ably by Professors Covert and Kunze and Sister Williams, and the sanitarium work was represented by Dr. Haskell, who now takes charge of the Keene Sanitarium. Two were ordained to the gospel ministry. The occasion was a solemn one, witnessed by hundreds. There was an increase of three who received ministerial licenses. Eight hundred dollars was raised for home work and the Missionary Acre Fund, and Brother J. F. Bahler donated enough to purchase a new fifty-foot tent for the conference. When the final meeting came, and the partings were said, all returned home feeling that the camp meeting of 1902 was a success on account of the blessing of the Lord which attended each service.