Albert L. Cullimore in Harden County (part 3)

This is a continuation of Albert Cullimore's mission recollections. You can see all the portions here.

After I had been in the Mission a year and eight-months, I was assigned by President Elias S. Kimball, the Mission President, to do special missionary work.  I was to help "break in" new elders and visit with them.  There were so many elders coming into the mission field at one time, there were not enough older elders to train them.  There were about 60 elders in the conference, and three conferences in Tennessee [1]  with a total of about 200 elders. There were four elders assigned to this particular responsibility.  We were to help the missionaries in any way we could, to train them, give inspiration, etc.

Soon after I was given this assignment, President Kimball had a letter from Elders Isaac Freeman and Ernest E. Brown, working in Harden County, Tennessee.  Elders Brown and Freeman got into a friendly county, and in every neighborhood they had opportunity to preach.  They had not been out long and had been asked to talk on many different subjects.  They did not feel qualified to accept the responsibility without a little help.  President Kimball wrote to Elder Don Carlos Young, Conference President, and asked that I be sent to work with them.  On arriving at where Elders Brown and Freeman were laboring, my companion went with Elder Brown; and I was to take Elder Freeman and go back through the county and hold a series of meetings in each neighborhood.

Elder Freeman was a wonderful elder, but was subjected to much ridicule because of a physical handicap.  He was extremely bow-legged, and as we walked down the street the people would shout at him, "Quack, Quack".

Elder Freeman wrote cards to friends to make appointments for meetings.  He notified them we would be there on Monday night to hold a series of meetings--one during the day and one at night. When the elders were there before, they held their meetings in the Community Church which had been opened for all denominations to use.  A friend who had received a card from Elder Freeman, telling of these meetings, announced it in Sunday School.  The minister became very angry and said that "the elders could not hold a meeting in that church.  Anyone could hold a meeting there, but not the Mormons".

Some of the congregation objected, and the minister and his son became very angry.  The son was so angry that he started foaming at the mouth and acted like a maniac.  In fact, he became so bad they had to carry him out of the meeting.  Then when they got him home they had to chain him to the old-fashioned lounge they had in their home; and his father, the minister, had to stay with him.

When we arrived there, we were told of the incident.  We went ahead and held our meeting undisturbed.  We had meetings all week as planned.  The son of the minister stayed in this bad condition all the time we were there, and the father had to stay with him because there was no one else who could do anything for him. After we had completed our meetings, friends wrote us telling us that he was alright.  They were able to release his chains and let him up to go about his activities.  The elders were protected from harm in this manner, and had the privilege of holding meetings in the church house.

President Elias S. Kimball was released as Mission President, and Ben E. Rich took his place.

[1] At the time these would have been East Tennessee, Middle Tennessee, and Chattanooga. East Tennessee would have included part of North Carolina, and Chattanooga would have included part of Georgia. Memphis would have been part of the North Mississippi Conference, and northwest Tennessee would have been part of the West Kentucky Conference.