Rev

Rev. Jacob Lackey

Inman Pastor 1945

Submitted by Rev. Jacob Lackey, Soperton, GA

In 1945, I finished Candler Theology School at Emory University. It was around the first of July, that The Rev. Paul Turner came to Theology School looking for Preachers. He was the D.S. [District Superintendent] of the Griffin District. I was from S.C. in the Rock Hill District. I did not know if I was going back there to serve, but here was a chance that I felt that God was calling me to follow His lead. Rev. Turner asked me if I would go to Inman Charge and serve it. There were four churches on the charge, Inman, Brooks, New Hope and Union Chapel. The salary was a little over $900.00 a year.

The Parsonage was rented out so I had nowhere to live. Mr. John Burch [Harp] met me at the train station in Jonesboro, Ga. He took my trunk and things to his house. I had no car or way of travel, so I started going to each community on Monday and staying all week with some member of the Church I was to preach at the next Sunday. I walked for miles in the country to people’s homes. Whatever they were busy with, I stopped and helped them as a visit and went on to another home.

Revivals were planned before I came to the charge. They had planned at Brooks to have Rev. Kelly to preach. It was indeed a good meeting. I led the singing at these revivals. I believe I preached myself at Inman, but the others I do not remember. The Union Chapel church was in great need of repair. The windows were all out of the Church. I had to put my hand over a lamp at night to keep the wind from blowing it out. We began to raise money to build a new church.

I was asked to teach School at Fayetteville High School, the eighth and ninth grades. I went on the school bus each day. Don Harp was a small child when I went to his home to spend the night. I was playing with him and he tore my shirt. Gary Parrish was also a small boy. Mr. Jim Minter was a teen-ager. I taught school three months and decided to quit. They finally got me two rooms in the Parsonage, so I had a place to stay.

The Price Family was active in the Inman Church. Hubert and Lois Price were good to me. They have four children, Myrtle, Hubert, Callie, and Wilbur. Hubert Price told me to come to his house any time and eat with him. One evening he asked me to go with him to meet the bus from Atlanta, Ga. He was to pick up Myrtle who worked at South Side Bank. Well he did not get a word in much as he talked. Myrtle and I fell in love and Married Nov. 19, 1945.

From the Marriage, we had two children, Sammy and Bonnie. I have four grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Mr. Price went with me to get a car. Myrtle had to teach me to drive. We went to the South Ga. Conference to a 6 point Charge near Darian, Ga. Rev. G. Ross Freeman had 9 churches. I took 6 of them. They rented us a one room cabin for 5 months and later a four room house.

From South New Port we moved to Waresboro, Ga. where I dug a well. We had no water. I taught school at Bickley. From Waresboro we moved to Mitchell, Ga., then to Garfield, then to Whigham, Ga., Ellaville, Fort Gaines, Irwinton, Centery in Dublin, Ga., Whitfield in Savannah, Guyton, Brooks in Waycross, Alamo, and Piney Mount near Sandersville, Ga. I retired June 1985.

On Nov. 19, 1996 I lost the best friend in this world, Myrtle, with cancer.

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