Reverend Allen Comes To Town  − 1 April, 1952

(The date is only conjecture, based on the active period of Rev. Allen's tent ministry coinciding with a time when my dad was living in Winston-Salem, NC)

Asa A. Allen, better known to his followers as A.A. Allen, was the quintessential preacher of the tent revival circuit. In his heyday (1950's - 1960's) he packed the faithful into tents, some of which could accommodate 22,000. Whether you consider him a true man of God or an charismatic con artist, it is difficult to dispute the positive effect he had on race relations, particular in the Deep South. His revivals were open to all and he made a point of visiting cities in which racial divides were more pronounced. One of those cities was Winston-Salem, NC.

It was during one of those visits that he ran afoul of three merry pranksters. My dad just happened to be one of them. What would have caused him to visit a tent revival in the first place, I have no idea. He was neither an overtly religious man, nor an atheist. Perhaps the term "deist" strikes the right balance. At any rate, he, along with a couple of members of his neighborhood "gang", decided to look into the goings-on at the fairground where Allen had set up shop.

Following the normal format of the revival, there was music and singing, preaching and, finally, a chance for people to come forward and be healed of their afflictions. During the healing service, a man walked slowly to the stage. The crowd grew hushed as Rev. Allen stepped down from the stage, microphone in hand. What followed went something like this:

Rev. Allen: Come forward, come forward. What is it that is troubling you?

Man: Reverend, sir. Every night when I go to bed, I feel somethin' dark and hairy a-crawlin' all over me.

There was a pause while the preacher considered the man's words. At this point the pranksters offered their own opinion, "IT'S YOUR WIFE, DUMMY!" Needless to say, they were "escorted" out of the tent and told never to return.

I have to admit that I admire my dad for getting thrown out of a tent revival. It is a feat that takes real panache. Still, it would have been nice to know if the man solved his problem through faith or Burma Shave.

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