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In my area, the "TAN STOCKING" revolution (or gunmetal, or gray, or salt-and-pepper brown and beige, or taupe) occurred earlier.
About 1945, perhaps??
I wore "BLACK STOCKINGS." as a toddler but by the time I went to school, many of the families had changed to other colored hosiery for females. I remember going to Freedom, NY convention and seeing mostly NON-"BLACK STOCKINGS," and to Hollidaysburg (Newry) PA, convention and seeing mostly BLACK, in the same years.
Jim Beacom was head worker in PA and a most determined enforcer of "BLACK STOCKINGS."
I am enjoying your "memories," Tom!!
Marti
Posted on the 2x2 List on January 16, 2001
I remember when I was a little girl, how ashamed I was to be seen with my mom!
I would lag behind her as if I didn't have any idea who in the world she was. Little knowing, at the time, how ashamed my mother was to be seen in public in those dreaded "BLACK STOCKINGS."
And they (the workers/system) thought these were pleasing to God?.....go figure. If the showing of flesh was so bad, why didn't women have to wear veils to cover their faces?
What bondage they suffered and for what?
Posted by Mary McMahon
January 24th, 2008
January 18, 2001
I can remember in the early 1950's in California, when I was a wee girl, my mother still wore "BLACK STOCKINGS." Her family was all in Kentucky and she didn't want to disappoint her mother by "being a bad example" to her sister's who visited us here.
Others were already wearing "TAN STOCKINGS", but “ALWAYS” with seams in them. As a teenager I can remember the arguments about getting seamless stockings. Nowadays the young women wear no stockings - maybe I shouldn't say young, most of the time my mother doesn't either. :)
Ah - the commandments of men!
"BLACK STOCKINGS." - for a period of time all the professing women were expected to wear "BLACK STOCKINGS." My grandmother professed in her early 20's, and wore "BLACK STOCKINGS" till the day she died at 69! (the workers thought flesh colored stockings were worldly) And no, they don't wear them now, I get the idea the workers think colored stockings are worldly now.
When I professed, most of the older female friends wore "BLACK STOCKINGS" and the workers still preached against silk and nylon ones. The history of the "BLACK STOCKINGS Mentality" is quite interesting. When William Irvine left the Faith Mission and formed the "Meetings," he copied most of the Faith Mission’s ideas and as the female "pilgrims" in the Faith Mission wore "BLACK STOCKINGS," he insisted the female "workers" do likewise. The female workers in turn did their best to impose the same standard of dress on the friends, so despite the fact that the doctrine had no scriptural grounds whatever, it was still being preached in the fifties.
How well I remember the heavy cotton "BLACK STOCKINGS," and no matter what, there they were all wrinkled around my ankles. I have been keeping pictures in the form of a diary for years, soooo looking back.... there is my grandmother and mother that professed in northern Vermont USA. in 1922. She and my mother in black stockings, I wouldn't think too much about them at that date, except I have a picture of my mother with a lovely white or pastel dress and showing very light colored stockings and (HORRORS) white shoes!!! which was taken in 1920. (It is also interesting/sad to see how sober they looked in All the LATER pictures.) And then to jump ahead to 1933, I am 7/8 years old in long "BLACK STOCKINGS,"and OH, how I got teased in school! But in 1945.. the pictures change, where the before and after pictures start when I left the way.So that covers the area of Northern Vermont USA, and the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario, Canada. My mother continued wearing "BLACK STOCKINGS," up to 1950, when they started to slowly go from black to dark gray, to brown and finally to natural color.
The lady of the house, where we went to meeting, was my grandmothers age and being the first of the 2by2's in Quebec, she was a hardy saint...Being up in years, she had developed ulcers on her one leg, and the Dr. told her she must take extra care of her leg, and NOT to wear those "BLACK STOCKINGS" because of the dye. The next time we saw her, there she was with one white stocking and one "BLACK STOCKINGS" on. One of the children asked her why she had one of each. She told us kids what the doctor had told her, adding "And I wouldn't think of going without my "BLACK STOCKINGS,"and as soon as my leg gets better, I will burn the white ones."...
During World War 2, "BLACK STOCKINGS" were hard to find so some of the people got light colored or white ones and some BLACK dye.
You can imagine what our legs looked like on a hot summer day after wearing those 'home dyed' stockings all day.
Ruth Tibbits-Cowin, Ontario, Canada 12/98
In some areas "BLACK STOCKINGS" were enforced so strictly that even babies had "BLACK STOCKINGS" on when they went to meeting, just in case they kicked up their little legs and exposed bare skin! My grandmother described how they were pinned to the diapers. I have seen tiny "BLACK STOCKINGS" or tall socks, probably cotton, that had been dyed BLACK from their original other color. I have seen little hand-knitted BLACK STOCKINGS for babies.
When I was little the "BLACK STOCKINGS" rule was still in force in Pennsylvania and New York but it was beginning to give way. So when I went to Freedom Convention (40’s, maybe 50’s) I would see females wearing gunmetal and taupe and brown and dark beige and "salt and pepper" stockings. These were cotton or cotton-lisle or cotton-rayon or rayon. At Newry Convention in Pennsylvania, all BLACK.
12/98 Marti Knight
"The workers may want to deny "the "BLACK STOCKINGS"" era, BUT there are lots of people living today who can validate this era. These poor women wore them because they were forced to."
Cheryle Winberg 12/98
Re. "BLACK STOCKINGS," these were certainly de rigueur for Irish 2x2s in the 40s and probably the 50s. My Aunt (now ex-2x2) remembers an occasion when as a child she put on "BLACK STOCKINGS" in the middle of the night as she feared that she would go to hell if she died without her "BLACK STOCKINGS."
12/98 Robert Kee
A worker admitted to me that the "BLACK STOCKING" rule was a "mistake."
An undated letter from George Walker.
George Walker, former head worker of Eastern USA and Canada wrote to friends regarding "BLACK STOCKINGS":
2350 East Susquehanna Avenue
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 25
Dear Friends;
A Letter, containing a misleading statement concerning What I said in a workers’ mtg. regarding "BLACK STOCKINGS," having been circulated amongst my friends, I feel I should write the following:
Over seventeen years ago, a man who did not profess and with whom I was not acquainted came to me at a special mtg, and complained that his wife, who had recently professed, was wearing "BLACK STOCKINGS" at the advice of the sister Worker she had professed through. Previous to this I had given little thought to the color of hosiery worn by our sisters. I knew when long dresses were worn it was considered all right to wear different colors. I talked with some of the older sister workers that I had cause to have a great deal of confidence in. They believe it would be better for all to wear black. At Conventions that year I asked this questions: "IF all sisters were satisfied in there (sic) minds that their wearing black was pleasing to the lord, Would their doing so hurt the Lord’s work?" I expressed my opinion that It would not. I favored BLACK because it was furtherest (sic) from the fleshcolor that many of us believed was unbecoming to "women professing godliness." At! no time did I say BLACK was the only modest color. I spoke against the wearing of it being a condition of fellowship. I did not, and I do not, believe using pressure on people, to make them go beyond what is in their heart, or to do what they are not convinced in their minds they should do, is profitable to them or to The Lord’s work.
I am personally acquainted with a number of sister’s (sic) workers and saints who believe it is pleasing to the Lord for them to continue wearing the black they have always worn. I appreciate their willingness to bear reproach for being true to their convictions. I have seen other qualities in them that causes me to "esteem them highly." I am acquainted with other sisters who believe their wearing other modest colors is pleasing to the Lord. I have no reason to doubt their trueness (sic) and sincerity. I have seen in them manifestation of the Spirit of Christ that causes me to "esteem" them highly."
There are other parts of a woman’s attire that it may be needful to mention. Is the wearing of a dress that does not come to a reasonable length below the knees, when she is seated, becoming to a "woman professing Godliness"? The scriptures speak expressly about outward adorning, wearing of gold, plaiting of hair. We are sometime grieved to see some of our sisters wearing large showy broaches, and we fear the wrist watch, when worn as an adornment especially a gold one, with goldband, is not in keeping with the instructions given in Peters Epistle. We fear the tendency some of our sisters have to follow the latest fads in arranging their hair does not add weight to their testimony.
During the past few years, we have not said much in conventions or other meetings about the outward appearance. We have had a strong desire to so speak and act that Love would be increased amongst us. If we have in our Hearts unfeigned Love for the Lord, we will so Love His work and people that we will be very careful not to hurt His work or cause the weakest amongst His people to stumble by what we wear or do or say.
We will be anxious to excel in Graces and virtues that are mentioned so many times in both Old and New Testament , the forgiving Spirit that enables us to forgive from the heart everyone who has wronged us or in anyway hurt our feelings. The compassion, the sympathy, the brotherly Love, that enables us to forbear and be patient with all and that causes our Fellowship to be profitable and pleasant. If we lack these things we cannot "adorn the Doctrine." Though our outward appearance is correct according to the Scriptures. Seeing that the Holy Spirit inspired Paul and Peter to mention these things, we should not consider the outward unimportant. Our unwillingness to "Obey" in this may indicate a rebellious Spirit that prevents the Lord working in us and us having the condition of Heart and Spirit that in the "sight of God" is of great price.
Recently I have been impressed with the word Servant as used by Paul. In RV Version it is translated Slave.
We know a slave has little to say regarding what he will do or say or how he will act towards others. I would like in the future to be more like a faithful slave.
With love and good wishes to all who Love His Name and Way,
Your Servant for Christ’s sake.
George Walker
