State

Summer Assembly Grounds .Millions of dollars art* in¬ vest oil and many thousands of people visit the assembly {•rounds in Western Carolina every summer. And now. it looks as though another one is aliout to materialize. Lake Tahoma, near Marion, which the Lutherans are contem¬ plating buying and converting into an assembly ground. ByJ.B. IIKKIIV STILL another summer assembly ground will be established by a Christian denomination in the majestic mountains of Western North Carolina if plans materialize in the Lutheran church to acquire and de¬ velop a retreat at Lake Tahoma, “in the shadow of Mount Mitchell." Already the Presbyterians have Montreat, the Methodists have Lake Jnnaluska; the Baptists, Ridgecrest; the A. It. P.’s. Bonclarken; the Epis¬ copalians. Lake Kanuga; the Cath¬ olics, Hot Springs; the Y.M.C.A. and Y.W.C.A., Blue Ridge, and the Co¬ lumbia (S. C.) Bible College, Ben Lippen. The Christian and Lutheran churches have l«ecn holding brief sum¬ mer assemblies at Bonclarken. A Truly Big Business Summer assembly grounds of de¬ nominations scattered throughout the “Land of the Sky” represent a total outlay of at least four or five million dollars, conservative estimates indi cate. Thousands upon thousands of clerics and lay leaders take advantage of the refreshing climate of the moun¬ tains during the summer months to participate in conferences, or to en¬ roll in classes for religious training. At one assembly ground alone last summer 30,000 persons from every part of the country took part in the programs. So important have those conferences become over the past decade that railroads now offer special rates to the retreats. The assembly grounds stand as mon¬ uments to far-sighted leaders of de¬ nominations who, years ago, when the mountainous half of the state was comparatively unknown to the outside world, anticipated the great need of central meeting grounds where religious lead¬ ers might gather and exchange constructive idea*, and the lay¬ men draw inspiration and get train¬ ing in church work. Most of them bad a modest beginning and were built largely on faith. Start of Montrcat Montreat, for example, was started bv the Mountain Retreat Association in 1897. under the leadership of the Rev. John S. Collins, Congressional minister of New Haven, Conn. It later came into possession of John S. Huylcr. New York candy manufac¬ turer. In 1903 the Into* Dr. J. R. Howerton, pastor of the First Pres¬ byterian Church of Charlotte, ob¬ tained an option on the holdings on condition the Southern Presbyterian Church carry into effect the original plan of making Montreal a religious and educational institution. Through a Presbyterian committee, headed by Dr. Howerton, n stock com¬ pany was organized and lots were sold to members of the denomination, the revenue realized from the sale of the property, together with a dona¬ tion from Mr. Iluylor, used for de¬ velopment. In 190S the General Assembly of the Southern Presbyterian Church, in session in Birmingham, took over the property. Infrequent donations and the “begging” of Dr. R. C. Anderson, president of the Montrcat Associa¬ tion, provided funds for construction of buildings and further development of the community. No bonds have ever been issued, and the community is an incorporated town without debt, or a jail, although tiro and police pro¬ tection are provided. Water, lights and other modern conveniences are at hand. The town operates under a lim¬ ited charter, and a board of trustee* holds the property perpetually in be¬ half of the church. Growth at Ridgecrest Ridgecrest had a somewhat differ¬ ent beginning. Dr. B. W. Spilmnn, prominent Baptist divine, was tramp¬ ing in 1907 with companions in what is known ля the Ridgecrest section, water divide of the Blue Ridge range, when they came upon the spot where now stands the assembly administra¬ tion building. "We came to this mountain-side,” he told friends, “and, looking about the lowering peaks in every direction, we said that this was the plane for the Baptist Assembly Grounds.” As president of a bolding company for the Southern Baptists under a North Carolina franchise, Dr. Spilinnu worked shoulder to shoulder with other leaders who rendered yeoman sen-ice through the distressing years from 1913 to 1919 to make the enter¬ prise a success. In 1920 the educa¬ tional board of the Southern Baptist Assembly accepted responsibility and directed activities there until 1928 when the Sunday School Board, Nash¬ ville, Тени., took charge. A $50,000 auditorium to seat 2,600 is now under construction nud $10,000 is being spent for enlarging facilities. Lake Junaluska Lake Junaluska has been the center of Methodist summer activities for many years, but only within the pnst Several years has it been owned and operated by the denomination. The church has completed paying off the indebtedness that threatened last year to take it from its control. A board of trustees was appointed to hold the (Continue J on page sixteen )