Church Burns

Did you know there was an arson at Pine Lake Baptist Church in 1996?

Morris, Mike. (1996, 7 June). Fire Hits Pine Lake Church. Atlanta Journal.

Here's the text:

Federal and DeKalb County arson officials are investigating a "suspicious" fire that destroyed the old sanctuary at the Pine Lake Baptist Church today. 

The fire, which was reported just before 3 a.m., gutted the 48-year-old structure that housed the church's youth department, said Pine Lake police sergeant Fred Semp. No one was injured in the blaze. 

The fire apparently started on the front porch and quickly spread through the wooden building, the officer added. 

"A lady who lives across the street from the church heard a loud car stereo, then she heard the car speed off," Stemp said. 

The neighbor looked outside, and the church was on fire," he said. 

An accelerant-sniffing dog was brought to the scene in the 4800 block of Rockbridge Road to help search for the cause of the fire, which also was being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. 

The building that burned was once the church's main sanctuary, but it has been replaced by a newer brick building.

"The saddest thing I've seen was the people who are about 40 who came by here who were baptized there," said Glen Chrisler, chairman of the church's board of deacons. "There's people who have sentimental ties to that building." 

As for the possibility that today's fire could be connected to a string of recent black church burnings across the South, Crisler said, "Any connection would be speculation." 

"I just think it's tragic that we're seeing this all across the country," said Eric Mathison, senior pastor at the First Baptist Church of Avondale. "Burning churches-- I don't see what kind of a message people would try to send with that."

There were indeed many church burnings in the 90s and early 2000s, most of Black churches. They occurred all around the South, and to my knowledge the perpetrator(s) have never been caught. Just beside the article is a short article about a second church bombing-- a Black church in Rocky Point, NC.

For the record, Pine Lake Baptist Church is open to all races and has a mixed congregation.

My next post will feature related articles in the same issue of The Journal.

Pine Lake Song

A song I wrote about our fair city is up on my website here

Other songs are here..

Fall Colors at the NJ Botanical Gardens

The New Jersey Botanical Gardens are a treat any time of year, but they're especially lovely in the fall. Here are some photos I took last weekend.

Lake Fest 2013 Flash Mob!

Welcome to Dogwood Springs

If any of my readers would like to read some words of fiction about a small town that might resemble Pine Lake in a slight way, feel free to go to my website and take a look at Welcome to Dogwood Springs.

Here's the link. What? You missed it? Here it is again. 

New Floors

Broken House: Part II: Repairs

This Ceiling Fan Likes to Burn Out Bulb Fixtures

No old house is perfect, and mine is no exception. It's been a champ, but things do break or wear out, and I'm faced with repair or replacement.

I do most repairs myself, but I'm not as young and limber as I once was, and there are limits to my expertise-- so occasionally I hire a professional.

House Broken: Part I: Pests

1998: My House, Just After I Bought It

I bought my little Pine Lake house in 1998 and it's been a champ. Aside from a couple of faucet leaks, and a water heater that blew out, the house has been pretty much trouble-free. Knock on wood, no huge problems to date.

That doesn't mean there aren't irritations. No. 75-year-old house will be perfect. The irritations consist of pests and small things that go kablooey.

Let's talk about pests first, huh?

I.B. Melton's History of Pine Lake

The Melton House Before its Recent Renovation

Former Pine Lake mayor Ira B. Melton wrote the following history in 1998

In 1936 Carl Shaub from Trouble, Kentucky bought an 80-acre farm where Pine Lake stands now. He brought Roy Purvis down from Trouble, and they formed the Piney Woods Company. They subdivided the lots into 20 x 100 and sold them as recreational and summer home lots. It was called Pine Woods Subdivision. The lots were $39 to $79 each.

The lake is approximately 1.5 acres and was dug with a steam shovel and mules. They tried to pump water into it from Snapfinger Creek, but it wouldn't fill. A pipe was run 1800 feet from up the creek, but in a few days, it would stop up. An open flume was added and is still in place today.

Mr. Purvis, know to all as Chief, was in charge of the project. He remained Chief of Police until his death.

When Mrs. (Mary) Purvis, arrived, she was tempted to get back on the train and head back to Kentucky. She toughed it out and she and Chief lived in their house on Pine until their deaths. Mr. Schaub told Roy to build a house on Pine. When it was finished, he gave it to Roy and Mary.

Chief was a wonderful man who had complete control of the young people and teenagers. He chaperoned their teen club, ran the concession stand, and was respected by all.
Attorney Sams wrote up the the charter of development in 1935. Many of the by laws are the same as Decatur's.

Pine Lake is a private city. The city owns a one foot strip around the perimeter of the city. There is access only from the Rockbridge Road side.

Amenities were for members, residents and their guests.

When Mildred and I moved here in 1941, there were only 26 year round residents. Chief Purvis had the only telephone. There were two pumps in town, one at the clubhouse and one at Spring and Poplar. These were the only places to get water. 

Scott Candler, DeKalb commissioner, helped to get water, sewer, and paved roads

Mildred and I raised five children here and I still believe it is the best place in the world to raise a family. In 1948 we founded the Pine Lake Baptist Church and it became the spiritual center of the Lake.

The present mayor and council are the best and I commend them for the good job they are doing now. We now have over 300 houses, 800 people, and who knows how many dogs and cats.

Ira Bailey Melton Sr.
1988

No Cronuts for You! Yes, Cronuts for You!

A pastry invention called the cronut has taken Manhattan by storm and a world-wide frenzy seems eminent.

Invented and trademarked by baker Dominique Ansel, the cronut was first sold on May 10, 2013. Available only at Ansel's bakery, the cronut is a combination of that French pastry of perfection, the donut, and the American pastry of perfection, the croissant. I wrote that backwards. Did you catch it? No sleeping here! This is pastry science! PASTRY SCIENCE!

Ansel makes only 200 to 250 cronuts daily. Lines form hours before the bakery opens at 8 am. When the doors open the cronuts sell out quickly-- at five dollars apiece. Just getting one can be a traumatic experience, to which this great article by Alexander Abad-Santos attests.

Almost immediately scalpers were buying the maximum number (3) of cronuts and selling them outside the stores for forty of fifty dollars apiece. A jackleg cronut delivery service is now delivering them for $100 apiece or $1500 for ten (apparently they're not good at math at http://www.croissantdoughnut.com/).

The black market delivery site will soon be gone, which is why the link just above isn't hooked up, but you'll find a screenshot of their order page below the fold.

But wait! Did you know you can get an esoteric blend of the delectable donut and the captivating croissant less than a mile from your Pine Lake home?

NOW you can click READ MORE!

Pine Lake: A Bibliography

In the first years of this century I compiled a bibliography
of articles from the press about Pine Lake.
You'll find it below the fold.

Yet More Pine Lake Houses from the 1940s

Do you see your home in the photos above or below?