Pastor Gary Corbin's "fan club" in Harvard Square, ca 1990-2003
Copyright (c) 2006 by Hugo S. Cunningham
First posted 2006/0904
Latest update 2006/0914
The Pastor Corbin archive seems to have dropped off line since perhaps year 2004.
We used to advertise it as:
Everything you always wanted to know about
Pastor Gary W. Corbin (AKA the Screamin' Preacher of Harvard Square) but were afraid to ask. Pastor Corbin preaches fire and brimstone in Harvard Square every Saturday night at 11:00 PM, much to the amusement of the sort of audience one would expect to find there. [Matthew 13:4] (In Corbin's defense, it should be noted that despite the horrid nature of his religion, he is a good-natured guy, even to his numerous detractors.)
More specifically:
Since at least the early 1990s, Pastor Gary W. Corbin, accompanied by five or ten family and church members, would show up every Saturday night at Harvard Square (Cambridge MA) around 11:00 PM. For 20 - 30 minutes, he would declaim warnings and maledictions from the Book of Revelation to the heathen. He attracted a half dozen regular hecklers, and larger crowds of 15-25 who simply watched the fun. There was never any threat of violence, except from an occasional drunken newcomer on either side who would be quickly calmed by regulars. Indeed, apart from the heckling, personal relations between the holy and the heathen were often friendly; after all, Pastor Corbin was getting attention.
From TV's "F-Troop" theme song:
"Where Indian fights are colorful sights,
and nobody takes a lickin',
Where Paleface and Redskin
both turn chicken!"
By the mid 2000s, however, his regular crew of hecklers disappeared. I am told a contributing factor was the arrival of different cops on the Harvard Square beat. Earlier cops understood the heckling to be harmless (as far as I know, Pastor Corbin never complained), but when new cops indicated they saw public disorder, no prudent person would stay around to risk arrest.
Pastor Corbin himself is still active. You can find references to him with an Internet search.
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