The American Beauty Rose

Long ago (about 1949 as I recall) and far away (well, not so far, it was actually the eighth grade room at the old Cedar Vale Elementary School) there was an event that probably changed the lives of the students that were there. It was an event that we will most likely never again see in our lifetimes. It happened before the age of wide-spread television and the internet. It happened in a room where Mr. Bates brought in a radio, or was it a little TV, so that the guys, and a few gals could listen to the World Series.
But into that room came "The American Beauty Rose". No, twas not a flower. Twas not a gorgeous beauty queen from the Arkalala. No it was a short, chubby man whose name was (George, I think) Rose, but referred to himself as The American Beauty Rose.
The Cedar Vale Baptist Church was holding a revival ( does any one remember what an old-fashioned Baptist revival was like?) and George Rose was the evangelist who came to comdemn the evil one and exort us to higher and purer thoughts. He was invited, or invited himself, to come to the schools and hold a session where encouraged all of the young sinners to show up at the church to have their sins forgiven, and to be SAVED. I have never in my life heard such a glorious speaker. The word of God came from his mouth like manna from heaven, and the threat of hell-fire and damnation came flowing forth like lava from the volcano. And sing!! He had the most beautiful baritone voice that raised the ceiling of that eighth grade room with
"Are you washed in the blood?" and "Ye must be born again" and " Wonder-working power in the blood."(As you may surmise, the baptists did like those songs of the blood( I was a baptist at that time)).
Those days are gone forever. Oh, I am sure the baptists still have their revivals and I am sure that carbon-copies of "The American Beauty Rose" are still thundering their threats and hopes, but they are not doing it in the public schools. Since the rise of the civil libertarians, the ACLU lawyers, the rabid atheists and others who wish to inflict their beliefs on the masses, we are not seeing the melding of church and state that we experienced on that wonderful day long ago and far away. Is this the way it should be?? Some will argue one way and some the other, but the fact is that now we don't see George Rose with his silver tongue and golden throat coming into the Cedar Vale Schools to entone us to BELIEVE. That way of life is disappearing rapidly, and we may be less because of the disappearance. I, for one, will not forget "The American Beauty Rose".