There is a group of people here in our county that are part of a tradition that goes back for 144 years. This group is known as the Faulkner County Singing Convention, and they meet each year on Friday and Saturday before the fourth Sunday in July. The current group has a constitution and by-laws adopted on July 26, 2013. The officers consist of a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, chaplain and sergeant-at-arms. In their respective order the current officers are Robert Clark, Jonathan Sawrie, Robert Morrow, Raymond Bush and Yolonda Walker. They meet by invitation in various churches around the county. This past year they met at the Pleasant Valley Baptist Church, located on Highway 25, in northern Faulkner County, Arkansas.

At this point let me confess that I know very little about this organization, but I am married to a woman who does. Janis (formerly Howard) has been very active in this organization, and her mother and father were active in this group for many years before Janis came along. Her mother played the piano for many singers and groups in the area. She also taught Janis to play when she was about 10 or 12 years of age. This means that Janis has been playing the piano for more than 70 years, and she would not want me to brag, but I can tell you that she is very good. My long-time friend Dr. Ben McNew has also been involved for most of his life, and he is now past 90 years of age. His father taught Singing School, and the Howards and McNews were good friends and often fellowshipped in their homes.

Here is what happens when the group gets together. We attended the most recent convention and there were about 30 people there. After the opening prayer by the chaplain, the president presides and gives a welcome. He then calls on different ones to come forward and lead a number from one of several song books. And here is something that was interesting to me. When I told them I was going to write this column, I asked for a show of hands of those in the group who could play the piano. Would you believe that almost half of the people there could play the piano? I can’t sing or play, so I’m jealous.

One thing I noticed is that the songs have been written by a wide array of people and are not songs you would see in a church hymn book. You may be familiar with the name “Stamps-Baxter,” as these people were some of the early pioneers in this movement. I can remember the Stamps-Baxter Melody Boys who sang each week on one of our local television stations. Something else that may be of interest is the large number of big-name entertainers in Gospel and Quartet singing and music circles who got their start in church choirs and groups like the ones I am telling you about here.

There was a time in our nation’s history, especially in the South, when county and state singing conventions were big, and churches were packed out when they met. But with the advent of television and the big screen, they have steadily declined. There is great value in keeping this movement alive, as young people who get involved are not likely to get in trouble. Please mark your calendar for the Friday and Saturday before the fourth Sunday in July and attend. You will love it as I did.

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(Jim Davidson is an author, public speaker, syndicated columnist, and Founder of the Bookcase for Every Child project. Since its inception in the Log Cabin Democrat in 1995, Jim’s column has been self-syndicated in over 375 newspapers in 35 states. For a personalized copy of “Your Future Begins Today” send $20, which includes postage and handling, to Jim Davidson, 2 Bentley Drive, Conway, AR 72034.)