Genealogy Data Page 2134 (Notes Pages)

Reeves Herman R [Male] b. 4 APR 1908 - d. 26 JAN 1973 Ritchie Cemetery, Moss Bluff, La.

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NEW IBERIAFuneral services for Herman H. ''Nick'' Reeves, 78, of Bayou Jack will be at 11 a.m. today, Oct. 28, in First United Methodist Church.

The Rev. Mike McLaurin and Pam Fitch will officiate. Graveside services conducted by the M.E. Girouard Masonic Lodge of Lafayette will be at 2 p.m. in Reeves Memorial Cemetery in Gillis. Burial is under direction of Evangeline Funeral Home.

Mr. Reeves died at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26, 1995, in his residence.

He was a native of Reeves and served in the Navy in World War II. He was owner/operator of Erosion Control Systems for 22 years and recipient of a national 1995 Outstanding Award. He was an active member of Firs United Methodist Church and the Fellowship Sunday school program. He had been a member of the M.E. Girouard Masonic Lodge of Lafayette and the Magnolia Lodge in Gillis for 50 years, and a member of the Shriners for a number of years.

Survivors are his wife, Charlotte Estay Reeves; two stepsons, Scott James Lapointe of Abbeville and Chad James Lapointe of New Orleans; one stepdaughter, Angelique Lapointe Stone of the Florida Keys; one brother, Robert ''Bob'' Reeves of Gillis; and three grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to Hospice fo Acadiana, Inc., P.O. Box 3467, Lafayette, La. 70502; or the Shriners Crippled Children's Fund, 3100 Samford Ave., Shreveport, La. 71103-4289.

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Meyers ? [Male]

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Reeves Emma L [Female] b. 9 MAY 1879 - d. 20 DEC 1957

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Reeves Jetta Angelina [Female] b. 21 JAN 1878 - d. 5 JAN 1953

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Henningson [Male]

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Reeves Mable Susan [Female] b. 11 JUL 1904 - d. 17 FEB 1983 Ritchie Cemetery, Calcasieu Par., La

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Reeves Martha [Female] b. 1836 Lake Charles, Louisiana - d. 27 NOV 1918 Calcasieu Parish, La

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Reeves Irene [Female]

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Reeves George W. [Male] b. 25 MAR 1835 Lake Charles, Louisiana - d. 21 FEB 1916 Calcasieu Parish. La

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The Reeves Chapel CME Graveyard is listed as a historical landmark Local graveyard full of history

The Reeves Chapel CME Graveyard, now known as the Hamilton Garden of Memories, dates back to 1866 and adjoins Reeves Temple CME Churchreputedly the first black church in Lake Charles.

The property at 1400 Winterhalter St. consists of an entire city block, bounded on the north by I-10, south by Winterhalter, east by Lyon and west by Missouri Pacific Railroad.

The cemetery's name was changed sometime between 1966 and 1971 in tribute to George Hamilton, one of the original members.

Breaking away from the white Methodist Episcopal Church South in 1866, the congregation named the church for the first pastor, the Rev. George W. Reeves, a white minister who died in 1916 as a member of the church.

The original Reeves Chapel was built sometime before 1877 and replaced in 1908 by a second building which was destroyed in the hurricane of 1918. With salvaged material, a third building was constructed in 1919 and stood until 1938 when it was torn down to begin construction of the present building which was completed in 1941.

On viewing the massive new edifice, Bishop J.A. Hamett was quoted as saying, ''It's no longer a chapel; it's a temple.''

PD:11/07/1993

WHEN DR. A.H. MOSS, Thomas Mullett, George W. Reeves, and Presiding Elder J.D. Davis gathered together on Nov. 19, 1871, to form the foundations for the present First Methodist Church, their meeting was of historical significance to Lake Charles, Southwest Louisiana, and the entire state.

This gathering meant a new congregation, followed by a new church in a thriving little town destined to be a city of industrial and commercial importance in the next century.

That church Sunday dedicates its building as debt free and burns its mortgage.

None of these organizers are living today, but their descendants are among the foremost workers in the organization which they perfected with love and care in those early days of Lake Charles.

The history of this whole movement, with photostatic copies of the minutes of the first quarterly conference are bound in a scrapbook compiled by A.M. Mayo, who became actively connected with the congregation in 1880.

Mr. Mayo has pictures of all the charter members with the exception of one, Mrs. Lucinda Gray. During the last two decades he has been collecting pictures of the charter members, pastors who have served the church, bishops who have made their annual visitations, and presiding elders who presided at conferences during this time.

Photographs of charter members include: Mrs. Rosalie Goos Wachsen, Mrs. Elizabeth M. Clement, Mrs. Jane Keener, Thomas Bullett, pastor; George W. Reeves, local preacher; Dr. and Mrs. Abram H. Moss, Mr. and Mrs. George H. Wells, and Mrs. Emma Munns.

Pictures showing three church buildings: the first little frame building on Bilbo Street, the building on the corner of Bilbo and Broad with the pretty tower which housed the beautiful bell that went down in the storm in August of 1918, and finally the handsome structure now used by the congregation on Broad and Kirkman streets, which will be formally dedicated Sunday.

Mr. Mayo has been connected with the Sunday School for about 60 years and is now serving his 52nd year as superintendent. His record, according to the best information obtainable, is the longest in point of service in Louisiana, and he is still on duty every Sunday morning, rain or shine.KATHARINE CHANNELL

The story of the Black Church that G W Reeves began as a young pastor:

The year was 1865. The devastating Civil War was over, slaves were being freed and Louisiana was under Union and Carpetbagger rule, which was causing grief for free blacks as well as whites.

Although blacks had received the right to vote in 1865, it was not a reality for all blacks. Their chance of voting was like putting the ballot behind locked doors with only corrupt politicians holding the key. P.B.S. Pinchback, Oscar Dunn, C.C. Antoine and several other blacks figured prominently in those dark days of questionable
post-war politics.

Turmoil in Baton Rouge and New Orleans led many blacks to flee west to Southwest Louisiana. They'd heard there was less conflict in this area as well as economic opportunities.

One of the first things they wanted, in their new freedom, was to worship in their own churches. In Lake Charles a church of free blacks was organized in 1866today's Reeves Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.

Those early founding members met under fragile brush arbors when the weather was good and in members' homes at other times. It was 1878 before they raised enough funds to buy land and build their first church. For them, at that time, collecting money meant filling a bushel basket with penniesonly a few a week.

They often met in the home of ''Uncle'' George Ryan, who'd been a slave of Jacob Ryan in the Bayou d'Inde area and, later, his son Jacob Ryan of Lake Charles. When the Civil War ended Uncle George bought a lot on Kirkman Street where he built his house. As a skilled carpenter, he was one of the very few blacks who was financially able to do that. Uncle George helped build many of the early homes in Lake Charles as well as the first store on the lakefront, owned by Jim Hodges.

Ryan's carpentry skills were a real asset to that first church, where he also taught others the carpenter's trade. They built the Reeves Colored School, which was operating by 1877the first black school in Lake Charles.
Mrs. Henry Brown taught there; she was paid $15 a month.

Few records exist of that first church and school, but stories were handed down from generation to generation about the triumphs and troubles of the early black pioneers as they attempted to establish churches and improve their living conditions.

In those days Lake Charles was just a village, with piles of logs nestled around the lakefront and schooners drifting lazily in the lake. There were thick woods between Railroad Avenue and Front streets, where stood the homes of the Ryans, Bilbos, Kirkmans, Pithons, Touchys and Salliers.

One of the Reeves church's earliest records told of Uncle George attending a national conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, probably the one held in December 1870 in Memphis, Tenn. At that conference blacks asked for their churches ''to be called Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, because we belong to the colored race, and we simply want to prefix the word 'colored' to the name, as we are part of the original Methodist Episcopal Church of America.''

There was also a resolution proposed which stated: ''If it be the will of God, our desire is that Colored Bishops be appointed or elected.''

The resolution passed and today Reeves CME Church belongs to the South Louisiana Conference, formerly the New Orleans Conference, which still has its own black bishops.

Bishop R.S. Williams, who was born and reared in Louisiana, and Bishop Elias Cottrell of Mississippi, were the first two bishops of the New Orleans Conference. Today's bishop for this conference is the Rt. Rev. Marshall Gilmore, whose office is in Shreveport.

In 1859 a young white man, George Reeves (1832-1916)who was born in Calcasieu, probably west of the river near Bayou d'Indewas ordained by the Mississippi Conference of the Methodist Church South, which at that time was all white.

That young clergyman became a Civil War hero, serving in Capt. Sewell's company under Col. Daley. When Daley was promoted, Reeves served in Company A under Ragsdale Texas Battalion.

After the war, the Rev. George Reeves was sent to be pastor of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in Lake Charles. The church was biracial at that time because Reeves was white, according to current pastor Rev. William Wallace, who has done much historical research of the church.

Reeves remained a member of the church, which was named for him, until his death in 1916. (His uncle, V.R. Reeves, was a longtime member of Calcasieu Parish Police Jury from Ward 1, serving as Police Jury president in 1915.)

Reeves married Malenda Burnett in 1869. When he died he was survived by a daughter, Mrs. Ada Glover Harveson, and her three children, Mrs. Bertha Glover Kisler of Lake Charles, Mrs. F. Stuessy and Carl Glover of Port Arthur, Texas.

Mrs. Kisler's daughter, Mrs. Glenn Hathaway, lives in Lake Charles today as does her grandson Glenn Hathaway Jr. Another daughter, Mrs. David (Patricia Ann) Stanton lives in Charleston, W. Va.

In 1878 yellow fever was running wild through New Orleans, with a few cases reported in Lake Charles, where William Meyer was mayor. It was that year that the Reeves congregation bought land from Freeman Hamilton.

Little is known about Hamilton, except that he received a land grant from President Rutherford B. Hayes and it was part of this property that Reeves Church obtained. A land deed says that the church paid $30, with George Ryan representing the church in the exchange. The sale was recorded Oct. 23, 1878. Seven years later another record was filed which states that the church bought another piece of land from Hamilton, about an acre, for $10 cash.

A statement about Hamilton, made by Augustus Mills in 1923, says ''I came to Lake Charles in March 1880 and knew Freeman Hamilton, who had married Elizabeth Bilbo. He died in January 1887.'' He was survived by seven children, Willie, Harriet, Jim, Bell, Emily, Rosa and Bertha.

Among Hamilton's great grandchildren are Tyra N. Young, Luella Walker, Vernon Gilbert, Mildred Geyan, Bernice Williams, Ernest Washington and John Nichols, all of Lake Charles; Thelma Smith and Lillian Martin of New Orleans; Earl Washington and Eunice Gordon of Sacramento, Calif.; Betty Caudle of Houston; Freeman Gordon of Chicago and Helen Turner of Oakland, Calif. Deceased are Robert Gilbert, Ruth Ezell, Carrie Smith and Earlie Washington.

In 1908 Reeves CME Church was chartered while the Rev. George Lands was pastor. Charter signers were George Ryan, Onezia Sallier and George Freeman. Among the charter members were George Ryan and his daughter Clorinda Ryan Washington.

During those early years the church was served by many pastors. Among them were the Revs. W.A. Hilton, William Viney, J.H. Walker, R.H. Martin, George Sands, A.W. Kennon, A.H. Rhodes and J.R. Lee.

On a brisk spring day in April 1915 Booker T. Washington was brought to Lake Charles for an inspiring speech in the old Arcade Theater. His visit was sponsored by many of the Reeves Church members.

According to the Lake Charles American Press, Washington delivered a speech at the Kansas City Southern depot to hundreds of children from black schools who were assembled at the station waiting to see and hear the great man. From there Washington went to the Arcade on Ryan Street.

''The Arcade Theater has never seen such a crowd,'' the newspaper reported. ''Every inch of space ... was crowded .. and hundreds stood outside in the lobby and on the sidewalks.''

Washington was quoted as saying ''In many ways the Negro in Louisiana has done well ... but he can make himself still more useful in the future.'' He stressed the need for better education and more skilled laborer among the blacks and emphasized the principles of the pioneers of Reeves CME Church when they organized the first black congregation 45 years earlier.

In 1917 about the time troops were arriving at Gertsner Field near Holmwood during World War I, the Rev. Joseph Andrew Johnson Sr. also came to Lake Charles as Reeves pastor and brought with him many challenges and much encouragement for his new congregation.

Shortly after his arrival he watched in horror as the church, built just 10 years earlier, was ripped to pieces by the big hurricane in August 1918. Immediately Johnson went to work with members who salvaged all the good lumber and constructed a temporary church building.

Next he started a building fund which soon provided a new church. Two of Johnson's sons, J.T. and Joseph Andrew Jr., became preachers and the latterthe first black graduate of Vanderbilt School of Divinitybecame a bishop in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.

In 1939 as Lake Charles was recovering from the Great Depression, the Rev. Charlie H. Washington became Reeves' pastor. Within eight months Washington was ready to do what they told him couldn't be done. He rolled up his sleeves and with the men of the church demolished the old building and from the salvaged material built a new sanctuary on the original site. All during construction, bystanders heard the pastor repeat as he worked, ''God will make a say.'' And He did.

Other pastors followed him, like the Rev. E.R. Coleman and the Rev. L.W. White, who emphasized the importance of black voter registration. During the pastorate of the Rev. Willie May, the term ''colored'' was dropped by the New Orleans Conference and the church celebrated its 100th anniversary.

During Lake Charles Centennial celebration, the Rev. L.D. Jackson became pastor and, like his predecessor Washington, became involved in community affairs. During his pastoratefrom 1966-71the church cemetery was named Hamilton Garden of Memories.

In 1971, the year the Downtown Mall was opened, the Rev. William Wallace Sr., current pastor, came to Reeves, with his wife Beatrice and sons William Jr., Michael, Karl and David. In 1972 a daughter Tina Renee born.

During his tenure Wallace has presented the congregation with a comprehensive history of the church. He spent much time researching and sorting facts. He also documentsed the first Reeves black school and collected records and documents which brought new depth to the church's history. A yearly anniversary celebration has also been held during his sojourn in Lake Charles.

Under Wallace's leadership a new Fellowship Hall and parsonage have been added and the church, renovated and remodeled. Large-print Bibles have been purchased for the entire congregation; many new musical instruments have been bought and a food bank has been established to care for the destitute.

Reeves CME Church has produced many ''firsts'' among its congregation. Rudolph V. Kirk, who moved to Lake Charles in 1935 after supervising more than 9,000 young men in the federal government's CCC project during the Depression, became the first black deputy sheriff in Lake Charles in 1952 under Sheriff Henry A. ''Ham'' Reid. Rufus Mayfield Jr. became the first black member of the City Council and Addie M. Geyen, first woman lay leader of the South Louisiana Conference.

Many of Reeves' current members grew up in the church as did their parents and grandparentspeople like Clarence Mosely, Iris LeDoux, Ezora Sallier, Clarence Guidry, Ruth Thibodeaux, Clara Hudson, Georgia Trahan and Lemorie Slocum.

Descendants of those first Christian pioneers at Reeves are today exhibiting the same strengths and determination of their ancestors in a new ongoing fight against the drug and crime elements which have invaded their neighborhoods.

The congregation of Reeves CME Church at 1439 Winterhalter St. today numbers about 475 who continue to fight for the improvement of their hometown, just as their forefathers did 126 years ago. And they continue to grow in stature and in grace and in pride of their great heritage.

PD:5/31/1992[SWLA.FTW]

The Reeves Chapel CME Graveyard is listed as a historical landmark Local graveyard full of history

The Reeves Chapel CME Graveyard, now known as the Hamilton Garden of Memories, dates back to 1866 and adjoins Reeves Temple CME Churchreputedly the first black church in Lake Charles.

The property at 1400 Winterhalter St. consists of an entire city block, bounded on the north by I-10, south by Winterhalter, east by Lyon and west by Missouri Pacific Railroad.

The cemetery's name was changed sometime between 1966 and 1971 in tribute to George Hamilton, one of the original members.

Breaking away from the white Methodist Episcopal Church South in 1866, the congregation named the church for the first pastor, the Rev. George W. Reeves, a white minister who died in 1916 as a member of the church.

The original Reeves Chapel was built sometime before 1877 and replaced in 1908 by a second building which was destroyed in the hurricane of 1918. With salvaged material, a third building was constructed in 1919 and stood until 1938 when it was torn down to begin construction of the present building which was completed in 1941.

On viewing the massive new edifice, Bishop J.A. Hamett was quoted as saying, ''It's no longer a chapel; it's a temple.''

PD:11/07/1993

WHEN DR. A.H. MOSS, Thomas Mullett, George W. Reeves, and Presiding Elder J.D. Davis gathered together on Nov. 19, 1871, to form the foundations for the present First Methodist Church, their meeting was of historical significance to Lake Charles, Southwest Louisiana, and the entire state.

This gathering meant a new congregation, followed by a new church in a thriving little town destined to be a city of industrial and commercial importance in the next century.

That church Sunday dedicates its building as debt free and burns its mortgage.

None of these organizers are living today, but their descendants are among the foremost workers in the organization which they perfected with love and care in those early days of Lake Charles.

The history of this whole movement, with photostatic copies of the minutes of the first quarterly conference are bound in a scrapbook compiled by A.M. Mayo, who became actively connected with the congregation in 1880.

Mr. Mayo has pictures of all the charter members with the exception of one, Mrs. Lucinda Gray. During the last two decades he has been collecting pictures of the charter members, pastors who have served the church, bishops who have made their annual visitations, and presiding elders who presided at conferences during this time.

Photographs of charter members include: Mrs. Rosalie Goos Wachsen, Mrs. Elizabeth M. Clement, Mrs. Jane Keener, Thomas Bullett, pastor; George W. Reeves, local preacher; Dr. and Mrs. Abram H. Moss, Mr. and Mrs. George H. Wells, and Mrs. Emma Munns.

Pictures showing three church buildings: the first little frame building on Bilbo Street, the building on the corner of Bilbo and Broad with the pretty tower which housed the beautiful bell that went down in the storm in August of 1918, and finally the handsome structure now used by the congregation on Broad and Kirkman streets, which will be formally dedicated Sunday.

Mr. Mayo has been connected with the Sunday School for about 60 years and is now serving his 52nd year as superintendent. His record, according to the best information obtainable, is the longest in point of service in Louisiana, and he is still on duty every Sunday morning, rain or shine.KATHARINE CHANNELL

The story of the Black Church that G W Reeves began as a young pastor:

The year was 1865. The devastating Civil War was over, slaves were being freed and Louisiana was under Union and Carpetbagger rule, which was causing grief for free blacks as well as whites.

Although blacks had received the right to vote in 1865, it was not a reality for all blacks. Their chance of voting was like putting the ballot behind locked doors with only corrupt politicians holding the key. P.B.S. Pinchback, Oscar Dunn, C.C. Antoine and several other blacks figured prominently in those dark days of questionable
post-war politics.

Turmoil in Baton Rouge and New Orleans led many blacks to flee west to Southwest Louisiana. They'd heard there was less conflict in this area as well as economic opportunities.

One of the first things they wanted, in their new freedom, was to worship in their own churches. In Lake Charles a church of free blacks was organized in 1866today's Reeves Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.

Those early founding members met under fragile brush arbors when the weather was good and in members' homes at other times. It was 1878 before they raised enough funds to buy land and build their first church. For them, at that time, collecting money meant filling a bushel basket with penniesonly a few a week.

They often met in the home of ''Uncle'' George Ryan, who'd been a slave of Jacob Ryan in the Bayou d'Inde area and, later, his son Jacob Ryan of Lake Charles. When the Civil War ended Uncle George bought a lot on Kirkman Street where he built his house. As a skilled carpenter, he was one of the very few blacks who was financially able to do that. Uncle George helped build many of the early homes in Lake Charles as well as the first store on the lakefront, owned by Jim Hodges.

Ryan's carpentry skills were a real asset to that first church, where he also taught others the carpenter's trade. They built the Reeves Colored School, which was operating by 1877the first black school in Lake Charles.
Mrs. Henry Brown taught there; she was paid $15 a month.

Few records exist of that first church and school, but stories were handed down from generation to generation about the triumphs and troubles of the early black pioneers as they attempted to establish churches and improve their living conditions.

In those days Lake Charles was just a village, with piles of logs nestled around the lakefront and schooners drifting lazily in the lake. There were thick woods between Railroad Avenue and Front streets, where stood the homes of the Ryans, Bilbos, Kirkmans, Pithons, Touchys and Salliers.

One of the Reeves church's earliest records told of Uncle George attending a national conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, probably the one held in December 1870 in Memphis, Tenn. At that conference blacks asked for their churches ''to be called Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, because we belong to the colored race, and we simply want to prefix the word 'colored' to the name, as we are part of the original Methodist Episcopal Church of America.''

There was also a resolution proposed which stated: ''If it be the will of God, our desire is that Colored Bishops be appointed or elected.''

The resolution passed and today Reeves CME Church belongs to the South Louisiana Conference, formerly the New Orleans Conference, which still has its own black bishops.

Bishop R.S. Williams, who was born and reared in Louisiana, and Bishop Elias Cottrell of Mississippi, were the first two bishops of the New Orleans Conference. Today's bishop for this conference is the Rt. Rev. Marshall Gilmore, whose office is in Shreveport.

In 1859 a young white man, George Reeves (1832-1916)who was born in Calcasieu, probably west of the river near Bayou d'Indewas ordained by the Mississippi Conference of the Methodist Church South, which at that time was all white.

That young clergyman became a Civil War hero, serving in Capt. Sewell's company under Col. Daley. When Daley was promoted, Reeves served in Company A under Ragsdale Texas Battalion.

After the war, the Rev. George Reeves was sent to be pastor of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in Lake Charles. The church was biracial at that time because Reeves was white, according to current pastor Rev. William Wallace, who has done much historical research of the church.

Reeves remained a member of the church, which was named for him, until his death in 1916. (His uncle, V.R. Reeves, was a longtime member of Calcasieu Parish Police Jury from Ward 1, serving as Police Jury president in 1915.)

Reeves married Malenda Burnett in 1869. When he died he was survived by a daughter, Mrs. Ada Glover Harveson, and her three children, Mrs. Bertha Glover Kisler of Lake Charles, Mrs. F. Stuessy and Carl Glover of Port Arthur, Texas.

Mrs. Kisler's daughter, Mrs. Glenn Hathaway, lives in Lake Charles today as does her grandson Glenn Hathaway Jr. Another daughter, Mrs. David (Patricia Ann) Stanton lives in Charleston, W. Va.

In 1878 yellow fever was running wild through New Orleans, with a few cases reported in Lake Charles, where William Meyer was mayor. It was that year that the Reeves congregation bought land from Freeman Hamilton.

Little is known about Hamilton, except that he received a land grant from President Rutherford B. Hayes and it was part of this property that Reeves Church obtained. A land deed says that the church paid $30, with George Ryan representing the church in the exchange. The sale was recorded Oct. 23, 1878. Seven years later another record was filed which states that the church bought another piece of land from Hamilton, about an acre, for $10 cash.

A statement about Hamilton, made by Augustus Mills in 1923, says ''I came to Lake Charles in March 1880 and knew Freeman Hamilton, who had married Elizabeth Bilbo. He died in January 1887.'' He was survived by seven children, Willie, Harriet, Jim, Bell, Emily, Rosa and Bertha.

Among Hamilton's great grandchildren are Tyra N. Young, Luella Walker, Vernon Gilbert, Mildred Geyan, Bernice Williams, Ernest Washington and John Nichols, all of Lake Charles; Thelma Smith and Lillian Martin of New Orleans; Earl Washington and Eunice Gordon of Sacramento, Calif.; Betty Caudle of Houston; Freeman Gordon of Chicago and Helen Turner of Oakland, Calif. Deceased are Robert Gilbert, Ruth Ezell, Carrie Smith and Earlie Washington.

In 1908 Reeves CME Church was chartered while the Rev. George Lands was pastor. Charter signers were George Ryan, Onezia Sallier and George Freeman. Among the charter members were George Ryan and his daughter Clorinda Ryan Washington.

During those early years the church was served by many pastors. Among them were the Revs. W.A. Hilton, William Viney, J.H. Walker, R.H. Martin, George Sands, A.W. Kennon, A.H. Rhodes and J.R. Lee.

On a brisk spring day in April 1915 Booker T. Washington was brought to Lake Charles for an inspiring speech in the old Arcade Theater. His visit was sponsored by many of the Reeves Church members.

According to the Lake Charles American Press, Washington delivered a speech at the Kansas City Southern depot to hundreds of children from black schools who were assembled at the station waiting to see and hear the great man. From there Washington went to the Arcade on Ryan Street.

''The Arcade Theater has never seen such a crowd,'' the newspaper reported. ''Every inch of space ... was crowded .. and hundreds stood outside in the lobby and on the sidewalks.''

Washington was quoted as saying ''In many ways the Negro in Louisiana has done well ... but he can make himself still more useful in the future.'' He stressed the need for better education and more skilled laborer among the blacks and emphasized the principles of the pioneers of Reeves CME Church when they organized the first black congregation 45 years earlier.

In 1917 about the time troops were arriving at Gertsner Field near Holmwood during World War I, the Rev. Joseph Andrew Johnson Sr. also came to Lake Charles as Reeves pastor and brought with him many challenges and much encouragement for his new congregation.

Shortly after his arrival he watched in horror as the church, built just 10 years earlier, was ripped to pieces by the big hurricane in August 1918. Immediately Johnson went to work with members who salvaged all the good lumber and constructed a temporary church building.

Next he started a building fund which soon provided a new church. Two of Johnson's sons, J.T. and Joseph Andrew Jr., became preachers and the latterthe first black graduate of Vanderbilt School of Divinitybecame a bishop in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.

In 1939 as Lake Charles was recovering from the Great Depression, the Rev. Charlie H. Washington became Reeves' pastor. Within eight months Washington was ready to do what they told him couldn't be done. He rolled up his sleeves and with the men of the church demolished the old building and from the salvaged material built a new sanctuary on the original site. All during construction, bystanders heard the pastor repeat as he worked, ''God will make a say.'' And He did.

Other pastors followed him, like the Rev. E.R. Coleman and the Rev. L.W. White, who emphasized the importance of black voter registration. During the pastorate of the Rev. Willie May, the term ''colored'' was dropped by the New Orleans Conference and the church celebrated its 100th anniversary.

During Lake Charles Centennial celebration, the Rev. L.D. Jackson became pastor and, like his predecessor Washington, became involved in community affairs. During his pastoratefrom 1966-71the church cemetery was named Hamilton Garden of Memories.

In 1971, the year the Downtown Mall was opened, the Rev. William Wallace Sr., current pastor, came to Reeves, with his wife Beatrice and sons William Jr., Michael, Karl and David. In 1972 a daughter Tina Renee born.

During his tenure Wallace has presented the congregation with a comprehensive history of the church. He spent much time researching and sorting facts. He also documentsed the first Reeves black school and collected records and documents which brought new depth to the church's history. A yearly anniversary celebration has also been held during his sojourn in Lake Charles.

Under Wallace's leadership a new Fellowship Hall and parsonage have been added and the church, renovated and remodeled. Large-print Bibles have been purchased for the entire congregation; many new musical instruments have been bought and a food bank has been established to care for the destitute.

Reeves CME Church has produced many ''firsts'' among its congregation. Rudolph V. Kirk, who moved to Lake Charles in 1935 after supervising more than 9,000 young men in the federal government's CCC project during the Depression, became the first black deputy sheriff in Lake Charles in 1952 under Sheriff Henr