“The Old Crowd”

In 1963-64, Leslie Gore had a terrific run with four successive Top Five hits, beginning with the #1, “It’s My Party.” The other three were “Judy’s Turn to Cry,” “She’s a Fool,” and “You Don’t Own Me.” This last song stayed at #2 for three straight weeks in February of 1964. It was denied #1 status by the Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” which rode the top spot all of February and three weeks into March.

However, this article is not about any of those songs. As a teenager in that era, your congenial editor bought many records, including “She’s a Fool.” It was a habit to play the b-side of each new purchase just to see how good it was. Those selections were often just average, but occasionally they were good enough to have been released, also. This was one of those songs, written by Carole King before most people knew who Carole King was. (Her 1971 album, Tapestry, was in 2020 ranked 25th on Rolling Stone's list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.”)

The words to King’s song, sung by Leslie Gore, are presented below. Anyone can listen to it on line.

Sometimes I get to thinkin' 'bout days gone by,
And I start cryin' every time.
What I wouldn't give if I could just relive
One day with those old friends of mine.
No one ever planned it, but every day at four
We would get together at the corner candy store,
We'd just ignore the sign, "No Dancing Allowed,"
Oh, oh, oh, yeah, how I miss the old crowd.

Sally was the funny one; Sue wore the hippest clothes.
Eddy was the wise guy—there's always one of those.
Johnny used to sing offkey, but, boy, he was loud!

Well, now it is funny, when high school days are through,
Friendships always come to an end.
Everybody tells you they'll keep in touch, yeah,
But you don't see them again, oh, no.
It's not that I'm unhappy; I know I still have you,
But I still think about those good times we knew.
We were so carefree then; our hearts were on a cloud,
Oh, how I miss the old crowd.
Yeah, how I miss the old crowd.

Perhaps high school students in smaller communities keep in touch, but the song proved to be prophetic for many of us.

Nor is this just a description of high schoolers as time journeys on. Almost three decades before he was elected President of the United States, James Garfield entered, as a student, a newly-formed school called the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (in Hiram, Ohio). In 1867, its name was changed to Hiram College. It lies about 32 miles south of Cleveland. In November of 1851, James Garfield gave the Valedictorian Address. Excerpts from that speech are quoted below. His future nostalgia was forecast accurately.

The time has at length arrived when our connection with each other, as seekers of knowledge, is about to terminate, at least for a season….

Time with his untiring wings has flown ceaseless and noiseless….

All hearts beat in unison; mind communed with mind; affections were blended and strengthened, which naught but the palsying hand of death can rend asunder.

At the return of each glad morning we have here assembled to read the Word of God; to learn sweet lessons from its sacred pages; to invoke his blessing to rest upon us; and then we have raised our voices in singing praises to His name. Here we have listened to the voice of instruction, the friendly counsel, and the kind warning against the evils which beset the paths of youth….

A few short hours, and we will have separated—another rolling sun, and these “familiar halls” are silent. No more will the clear tones of that “friendly monitor” borne on the morning air call this band to duty. The events of our sojourn here will soon be numbered among the things that were, and will live only in the memory. But there upon the tablet of the heart these scenes shall forever dwell. For many a year to come, in thought, we’ll wander back to these bright days and live them o’er again….

To those who have been the obedient, the faithful students, these will bring cheering reflections. This spot will be as a bright oasis to cheer the drooping heart through the dreary desert of life….

What one of our number, ere another sunny spring visits the earth, shall have gone to inhabit “the silent city of the dead”? What heart shall be wrung and weighed down with sorrow? Who shall mourn over the tombs of departed loved ones, or shed tears of bereaved fondness?

To Him alone who rules in earth and heaven these things are known. To us belongs the present only….

To my fellow students let me say, in whatever circumstances of life I am placed, the recollection of this youthful company will ever be cherished with the most pleasing emotions….

We part. Never again shall we all meet on these mundane shores. We go, and soon are scattered o’er the earth. Death does his work and we sink down into his dark domains. Shall we rest there while endless ages roll? Shall morning never dawn upon that dreamless sleep?

Religion holds the lamp at Death’s dark threshold and lights the passage through the gloomy shades. We’ll pass its dusky portals—eternity bursts in upon our view—and there around the throne of God we’ll meet to part no more.

[Note: These selections from the future President’s valedictory speech were recorded in the book by C. E. Fuller, Reminiscences of James A. Garfield, pages 36-38.]

Although Garfield expressed the sadness of separation a little more elegantly than Carole King, the basic point remains the same. With but little effort, your congenial editor can recall bounding up the steps two and three at a time from the parking lot to the front entrance of the auditorium at Freed-Hardeman’s lectures. One of the highlights was hearing Guy N. Woods host the Open Forum each day. It wasn’t a candy store, but each year we hung out in Auditorium B for that daily event.

One year, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit was discussed; brothers Woods and Nichols held different positions but loved each other dearly. And they both agreed that the Holy Spirit did not operate directly on anyone. A friend and I ran into another preacher from our area. He asked us a question about the discussion, but before we could answer, he went off on a 45-minute tear concerning his position. He was adamant about the literal indwelling, and we weren’t even disagreeing with him. Who knows how long he might have spoken if we had?

The many years there were full of inspiration from the outstanding preparation the speakers made. Much of the 80s was spent at the Spiritual Sword lectures. The variation of topics was not as great, but the information was excellent. In the ’90s, it was a privilege to attend the Shenandoah lectures, directed by Terry Hightower, and the Annual Denton lectures, hosted by the Pearl Street Church and Dub McClish.

My first time at the Shenandoah lectures, I stayed in a room with Brother Tom Gardner, whom one could not help but like. On Sunday morning he said, “Several of us are going to eat breakfast together. Would you like to come?” “Who’s coming?” I asked. He said, “Oh, Brother Warren, Brother Deaver, and others.” It was my first time to speak on a lectureship. I had been present for all three of Brother Warren’s debates with atheists, but had never met him. “Are you kidding?” I answered. How often does one get to dine with legends?

During the next fifteen years, this northern interloper was privileged to eat meals with, speak on lectureships with, and even host in his home some of the outstanding preachers in the brotherhood. All of us could relate tales of those days gone by that would fill up chapters in a book, if told correctly. The camaraderie was encouraging and faith-building.

As Garfield stated, “All hearts beat in unison; mind communed with mind; affections were blended and strengthened….” Yes, it was in part because of hunger for knowledge, as college students might exhibit, but the bond that held everyone together was the commitment to stand for the truth. Encouraging one another in that endeavor was of great significance. Truly, those were the ”good old days.”

But…

For many, those days live on in memory but no longer in actuality. Why not? As Garfield suggested, many of those from decades past have sunk down into the dark domains. “Never again shall we all meet on these mundane shores.” However, death is not all that has divided former friends and brethren. There is no way to say this but to affirm that the devil has been at work. No, this is not an attempt to assess blame on any one individual or group. Finger-pointing at human beings is not the goal of these words.

But when great unity is disturbed or destroyed, it is obvious that Satan has been busy. Can there be any doubt as to this fact? Have we been played? Is anyone guilty? Are we all guilty? Is there any remedy? No one can predict one way or the other.

The Preciousness of Unity

Perhaps the best lesson to learn is that God wants unity in every congregation; Paul stated seven reasons for it in Ephesians 4:1-6. He urged Euodia and Syntyche to be of the same mind in Philippi (Phil. 4:2). Paul made the case for unity several times in 1 Corinthians, starting at the very beginning and especially in chapter 12. Why did all these problems exist?

What has the devil got to do with his time? He doesn’t need to spend much of it on those who are already his. He might want to assure them from time to time that they are doing exactly what they need to (going to bars, drinking, gambling, living in fornication or adultery). He is also already satisfied with the availability of numerous “Christian” denominations that many find satisfying.

Therefore, he devotes his time to those who have escaped the pollutions of the world and most of the false doctrines of the day. Just consider that the Lord’s people have huge targets on their backs. The devil will strive to find some weapon to dislodge him from his salvation. We must be sober, alert, and watchful that he does not win victories over God’s people. If we must part ways, it should be through death—not anger, envy, or hatred. And it should be with the hope of being reunited.