{"id":28238,"date":"2021-07-28T12:52:25","date_gmt":"2021-07-28T16:52:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=28238"},"modified":"2021-08-20T10:09:32","modified_gmt":"2021-08-20T14:09:32","slug":"pumc-hobos-to-celebrate-pitmans-heritage-8-7-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=28238","title":{"rendered":"PUMC & Hobos to Celebrate Pitman’s Heritage (8\/7\/21)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pitman is a small town with a tight-knit heritage.\u00a0 It is a community woven together by churches and service groups.\u00a0 Pitman has an all-volunteer fire department, service organizations such as the Kiwanis club, Scouts, VFW, American Legion. \u00a0 Cultural threads such as theater groups, craft shows, and a variety of downtown restaurants tie us together.\u00a0 The public schools bring us together with learning, sports, and theater; classmates from 40 years ago still share the same neighborhood.\u00a0 The Broadway Theater of Pitman hosts a continuous series of live productions throughout the year which make our town an entertainment destination for many in South Jersey and beyond.\u00a0 The summer is bookended by the Fourth of July parade and by the the Labor Day Carnival (which raises funds for one of our fire departments).\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

There are many threads that bind the town together, but two of the biggest are the Hobo Band and our Camp Meeting Heritage.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/h3>\n

Pitman Hobo Band…<\/span><\/h3>\n

The “Original Pitman Hobo Band<\/a>” is a point of pride for all Pitmanites.\u00a0 This volunteer collection of musicians has played their brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments around the globe.\u00a0 Philadelphia has its String Bands, but Pitman has its Hobo Band.\u00a0 The Hobo band wears old jeans and patches instead of fancy backpieces (mummer suits are expensive, but anyone can afford patches).\u00a0 The band is composed of longtime residents, recent High School graduates, and others whose roots are in other communities.\u00a0 The band performs concerts throughout the year and holds a summer youth band program each year.\u00a0 Along with Woodbury’s Bonsal Blues band, they are a perennial mainstay in Pitman’s Fourth of July Parade. You’ll also see them in the annual Santa parade and hear them in Pitman’s Sunset Auditorium whenever it’s warm enough for an audience to gather outdoors.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rev. Pitman’s Band of Believers…<\/span><\/h3>\n

Even before the Hobo Band came together, our town had its roots in the Methodist Camp Meeting which met in the “Pitman Grove” each summer.\u00a0 Alcyon Lake and the railroad line made Pitman a resort destination.\u00a0 People from Philadelphia and points beyond would take the train to Pitman during the summer to enjoy the lake and its boardwalk.\u00a0 They would also enjoy the quiet of the Pitman Grove to worship God.\u00a0 The Pitman Grove derived its name from the Rev. Charles Pitman.\u00a0 Rev. Pitman never lived in the community which would bear his name, but he was a Methodist circuit preacher who was well-respected.\u00a0 In fact, there is a Pitman United Methodist Church in Philadelphia!\u00a0 This church also named itself after Rev. Pitman.\"\"<\/p>\n

This wooded area in what is now the center of our town became a powerful location of preaching and music.\u00a0 The slogan “Pitman and Power” came to serve as a reminder of how a community of worship can connect to God’s power and bring bring healing, strength, and vitality to our lives.\u00a0 Eventually this summer resort began to be filled by those who wanted to stay all year.\u00a0 The “Tabernacle” in the center of the Grove became surrounded by cottages, and the summer Camp Meeting location eventually spread into a town.<\/p>\n

Eventually, the “Pitman Grove” became the “Borough of Pitman”, and the summer camp meeting spurred a new Methodist Episcopal Church for the full time residents.\u00a0 Over the years, the “Pitman Grove Methodist Episcopal Church” underwent several denominational mergers, changed building locations, and eventually became what we now know as the Pitman United Methodist Church.<\/p>\n

Passion for God in Pitman has always been high, and that passion found expression in many different faith traditions.\u00a0 From the roots of the Camp Meeting, denominations other than Methodist began to take root.\u00a0 Pitman is now home to about 12 different churches.\u00a0 It likely has more churches per square mile than any other community!\u00a0 But diversity is not division.\u00a0 The churches in Pitman continue to work together to minister to our community.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hobo Band and Pitman’s Camp Meeting Join Together!<\/span><\/h3>\n

The Pitman Hobo Band and the Pitman Camp Meeting are both celebrating milestone anniversaries this summer.\u00a0 The Hobo Band is 75 years old, and the Pitman Camp Meeting is now 150 years old.\u00a0 These two pillars of our community deserve celebration and thanksgiving.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So the Hobos and the town are throwing a “party” on Saturday August 7, 2021.\u00a0 During the day the Pitman Historical Museum will organize special exhibits in the museum and in the Grove Auditorium to celebrate our Camp Meeting heritage and to show how the town came into existence.\u00a0 In the evening, the Hobo Band will give a concert in the Sunset Auditorium.\u00a0 This concert will include a choir from the Pitman United Methodist Church to help celebrate our Camp Meeting heritage with music.<\/p>\n

The Grove Auditorium and Historical Museum<\/a> are located in the center of town.\u00a0 Park downtown, and walk down First Avenue (actually a “sidewalk” that starts on East Ave).\u00a0 Look for the “Pitman Grove” arch in Pitman Ave and Broadway.\u00a0 Sunset Auditorium is located a few blocks south of the town’s center (off of Laurel Ave; the street that’s right before the railroad crossing).\u00a0 Sunset\u00a0Auditorium<\/a> is on the corner of Lincoln and Laurel Aves.\u00a0 Both locations are within easy walking distance of eachother.\u00a0<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Hobo Band – Camp Meeting Anniversary Celebration<\/span><\/h4>\n

DATE:<\/span><\/strong> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Saturday August 7, 2021<\/span><\/p>\n

EXHIBITS:<\/span><\/strong> \u00a0 9:00 AM to Noon (Grove Auditorium and Historical Museum<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

CONCERT:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 7:30 PM (Sunset Auditorium<\/a>)<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Pitman Hobo Band and the Pitman Grove Camp Meeting are both celebrating anniversaries this year. A historical exhibit will be held during the day on August 6, and a special concert will follow in the evening. The PUMC choir will join the Hobo band in this concert<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2208,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,55,182],"tags":[106],"class_list":["post-28238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-evann","category-mission-aroundtowns","category-neighbors","tag-history"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28238"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28251,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28238\/revisions\/28251"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}