January 18, 2001
I can remember in the early 1950's in California, when I was a 
    wee girl, my mother still worn 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!

January 2001

I grew up on a dairy farm in northern Wisconsin and we had a lot 
     of woods, so every spring before the snow was gone we would go 
     to the woods to tap the maple trees and cook around 300 gallons 
     of maple syrup. Now my Mom had never learned to drive a car so 
     after the garden was planted in May, she asked me to drive her 
     to Evanston IL. about 230 miles away to visit her sister on the
     north side of Chicago. Now this was in 1948 and my Mom was 50 
     years old, and professed in 1922 and she had been wearing black 
     stockings for 28 years.

     Before we left, Mom told me to load up the trunk with a lot of 
     jars and cans of maple syrup, so while we are down there we will 
     go into the suburbs and go door-to-door selling maple syrup to 
     pay for our trip. Now my aunt Esther had never professed and we 
     didn't get to see her very often, so when we arrived and went 
     into the house my aunt said to my Mom, Oh Lucy you are still 
     wearing those black stockings, you know every time I see the 
     black crows flying in the backyard I am always reminded of you 
     still walking around in those black stockings. Now my aunt 
     Esther was a very jolly happy person and my Mom and I quickly 
     put the embarrassing black crow story behind us.

     So we visited a few days and Mom told my aunt that we were going 
     to spend about three days going door-to-door selling maple 
     syrup, and my aunt said, drive north one mile from here, it is a 
     more wealthy suburb.

     Now as I was driving along I looked over to Mom and I noticed 
     that she was taking off her black stockings and I said Mom what 
     are you doing that for? So Mom reached into her big black purse 
     and pulled out a package and in it was a pair of light tan 
     stockings and she put them on. Now I became very frightened
     and I said Mom if the workers and friends find out about this we 
     will get kicked out of the truth and we will both go to a lost 
     eternity. I will tell you why I'm doing this Mom said to me, we 
     each have our large canvas shopping bag to carry the syrup and 
     you will be walking up one side of  the street and I will be 
     walking up on the other side and how would I look, with a
     black hat on my head to cover up my bun, my dark blue dress and 
     black stockings from my knees down to my big black shoes, and 
     they see me coming up to their door, they will think it's the 
     bag lady coming and they're not going to answer the door bell, 
     and they might even call the police because this is a wealthy 
     neighborhood.  Now with these tan stockings on at least I look
     halfway presentable.

     Well, we got through the day all right and now I was driving 
     back to my aunt's house and Mom started taking off the tan 
     stockings in the car and she said, I don't dare let my sister 
     see me in these tan stockings, so I have to put these black ones 
     on again. Now don't drive so fast as we are almost there she
     said, and she was having trouble with the first stocking with 
     hooks or snaps not working right and finally she got one black 
     stocking on. By this time we were getting near to my aunt's 
     house and Mom said stop right here and give me time to put the 
     other black one on. I said Mom you can stay in the car and
     change that one right out there in front of her house, no, Mom 
     said she could be right out in the front yard and come over to 
     the car and open the door to help me out of the car and there I 
     am standing with one black stocking on and one tan stocking on 
     and I would never hear the end of that from her.  So I
     stopped where we were and she put the other one on.

     Now the next morning after breakfast we went out again to sell 
     maple syrup, so in the car along the way off came the black and 
     on went the tan and we sold maple syrup all day and nobody 
     called the police and going back to my aunts house the procedure 
     was reversed.  The third day we went out again and the same 
     thing was done again, and that day was the end of our business
     venture.

     Now after several days we were back in the car and on our way 
     home again and Mom said to me let's keep this a secret, don't 
     tell anybody, because if this gets back to the workers it will 
     be like we sing in that hymn "only remembered by what we have 
     done."

     Now about two years later a great change was sweeping over the 
     country, women and girls were telling other women and girls that 
     you don't have to wear the black stockings anymore get rid of 
     them and put on the tan.  Now the next Sunday after meeting a 
     lady, mom's age came up to us and said to Mom, did you
     know we don't have to wear the black stockings anymore?  Mom 
     asked her, did the workers make an announcement that it's okay 
     now? No she said it seems like the workers don't have anything 
     to say about it, its out of their hands, people are changing all 
     over the country.  Now she said to Mom are you going to change 
     into the tan too? Well my Mom looked at me and then said to her
     I've already got a pair, I've had them for two years and I've 
     been praying for this to happen.

     Well, this lady said to Mom you know its going to seem so 
     strange walking around town with tan stockings on and the people 
     we know are all going to stare at us. Mom said let them stare I 
     couldn't be happier.

    - Tom S.  

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 stocking 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 Stocking 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 stocking 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 stocking 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 blackstocking 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 stocking" 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

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 blackstockings 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