Andrews   May 14

One thing that riding in the rain makes you aware of is places in which to seek refuge. You’re always on the lookout…there’s a nice side shed on that abandoned barn; that motel for sale has a nice covered drive-up area; that overpass ahead is dry; that store has a great awning.

 A lot of churches also meet the criteria due to their front steps porticos. So, as yet another storm cloud overtook me this morning I wheeled into the Cypress Methodist Church. This wasn’t a typical church; it was surrounded by 34 rustic wooden cabins.

Cypress Methodist Camp Ground is one of only a few campgrounds in South Carolina which continues to host annual week-long camp meetings—a vestige of the Great Awakening in American religious life in the nineteenth century. It s first session was held in 1794. Francis Asbury, pioneer of American Methodism, visited several times.

The campground is in the general shape of a rectangle of 34 tents, or cabins, made of rough-hewn lumber. These cabins, rectangular shaped, are generally 1½ stories and contain earthen floors. The typical floor plan features a hall extending the length of the cabin with as many as three rooms on the opposite side. The second story is accessible by a small stairway or ladder.

In the center of the rectangle is the tabernacle, an open-sided wooden structure that is the focal point of the revival meetings. Serving crowds too large for church buildings or homes, the campground originally responded to both religious and social needs. The tents allowed people to stay overnight, and the campground term remained even though tents were gradually replaced by the current rough-hewn cabins.

Andrews, where I’m staying tonight, is the home of musician Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans), he of Twist fame, (sorry young’ns but he was big for us geezers) and comedian Chris Rock. A sign coming into town only mentions Checker. Both of them left before they even knew they lived in Andrews—Checker moved to Philadelphia, PA while Rock landed in Brooklyn, NY.

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