History of Lakeside Community Church of the Nazarene
In 1950 additional space was needed for storage, a furnace and for Sunday School. The Church Board decided to provide a basement under the Church building and to enlarge the Church building from 25 feet wide by 40 feet long to 25 feet wide by 50 feet long. This larger building would provide room on the ground floor for a vestibule at the church entrance, additional space at the altar and, perhaps, additional seating capacity.
Having limited space on the property eliminated repositioning the existing building. The basement area had to be hand dug underneath the existing building; which was done by the laymen of the Church. A concrete footing was placed upon which concrete block walls were erected. A concrete basement floor was placed and an internal wood stairway built. A basement exterior doorway was constructed. Concrete steps to the building exterior were built. The basement was partitioned with wood paneling and provided rooms for Sunday School classes, for storage, and for the installation of a new furnace. The new construction also enlarged the Sanctuary by moving the platform area north. This enabled the placement of two additional pews and created a larger area around the Altar. The Church building seating capacity increased from 80 to 9- persons. Peter Tucker was the Pastor at this time.
In 1960 the Church Board decided to look for land in Ebensburg for building a Parsonage and, possibly a new, larger Church building. In 1960 the Ebensburg Methodist Church built a new facility at a new address which made its old church on North Julian Street available for sale. The Nazarene Church offered $12,000.00 for the old Methodist Church but the offer was rejected.
Finally, in1966, an existing 25 year old house at 713 East Crawford Street was purchased for $16,000.00 less a donation of $1,500.00 from the First National Bank of Ebensburg. Using some accumulated building funds from the Church Treasury, the final mortgage amount was $12,800.00. A 20 year mortgage was signed which resulted in a monthly payment of $95.00.
This two story frame building had three bedrooms and a bath upstairs; a living room, a dining room, a kitchen, a bathroom and a single car garage on the first floor and a basement with concrete block walls and concrete floor. The basement contained an outside door to the rear near ground level. This building became the Church Parsonage and remains the Parsonage at this writing. Elizabeth Dumann was the Pastor when the Parsonage was purchased. The house came with an adjacent vacant lot (135 feet wide by 220 feet long) immediately east of the living unit.
The Parsonage was remodeled in 1970 when Ramon Street was the Pastor. There are no records to indicate what work was done at the Parsonage in 1970.
On November 1, 1975 the indebtedness on both the Parsonage and the original temporary Church building was retired.
During 2005 a new double car garage, separate from the Parsonage, was erected b the men of the Church on the Church owned vacant lot next to the Parsonage. This allowed the original single car garage inside the Parsonage to be converted to inside living space. Some other minor renovations were done to the front of the Parsonage by the Church men. J. Bret Metcalfe was Pastor at this time and contributed much personal time and effort during the garage construction and the Parsonage renovations. A back porch was added to the Parsonage at this time. The concrete garage floor was completed by the Church laymen in 2011.
In 1979 the Church Board again began discussions about relocating and enlarging the original Church building. The next year two situations occurred which provided the Church Board with confirmation that it should proceed with the relocation and enlargement project.
1) An anonymous package containing the sum of $8000.00
(eighty- one hundred dollar bills) was discovered by the Pastor
(Rev. Paul Willette) on the parsonage doorstep the morning of
April 8, 1980. Attached to the package was the following Scripture
verse: I Corinthians 3: 10-11 "By the grace God has given me,
I laid a foundation as an expert builder and someone else
is building on it. But each one should be careful how he
builds, for no one can lay any foundation other than the
one already laid, which is Jesus Christ." (New International
Version). To this day the donor is unknown to either the Pastor or
any of the Church people.
2) Mrs. Goldie Holben, an elderly widow member of the Church,
agreed to sell her property to the Church for $6,000.00 for the erection
of a new Church building. Mrs. Holben owned the land at 1006 Rowena
Drive (U.S. Highway Route 422) adjacent to Lake Rowena, where the
Church is now located. The property, containing a two story frame house
where Mrs. Holben lived, measured 136.5 feet wide (frontage) by 244 feet
long containing 0.76 acres (about 3/4 acre). This property is within the
Borough of Ebensburg's corporate boundaries.
Mrs. Holben stipulated in the sale that she would be able to continue to live in the house on the land for as long as she desired. The Church Board accepted this offer and purchased the property in July 1979. In order to obtain a clear deed, the Church satisfied a $2,217.58 encumbrance the Pennsylvania Department of Public Assistance had attached to this property. The Church obeyed Mrs. Holben's wishes by allowing her to live in the house until her death on October 4, 1994. In the spring of 1995 the house was razed which allowed greater visibility from the highway and more room for the Church lawn.
Having limited space on the property eliminated repositioning the existing building. The basement area had to be hand dug underneath the existing building; which was done by the laymen of the Church. A concrete footing was placed upon which concrete block walls were erected. A concrete basement floor was placed and an internal wood stairway built. A basement exterior doorway was constructed. Concrete steps to the building exterior were built. The basement was partitioned with wood paneling and provided rooms for Sunday School classes, for storage, and for the installation of a new furnace. The new construction also enlarged the Sanctuary by moving the platform area north. This enabled the placement of two additional pews and created a larger area around the Altar. The Church building seating capacity increased from 80 to 9- persons. Peter Tucker was the Pastor at this time.
In 1960 the Church Board decided to look for land in Ebensburg for building a Parsonage and, possibly a new, larger Church building. In 1960 the Ebensburg Methodist Church built a new facility at a new address which made its old church on North Julian Street available for sale. The Nazarene Church offered $12,000.00 for the old Methodist Church but the offer was rejected.
Finally, in1966, an existing 25 year old house at 713 East Crawford Street was purchased for $16,000.00 less a donation of $1,500.00 from the First National Bank of Ebensburg. Using some accumulated building funds from the Church Treasury, the final mortgage amount was $12,800.00. A 20 year mortgage was signed which resulted in a monthly payment of $95.00.
This two story frame building had three bedrooms and a bath upstairs; a living room, a dining room, a kitchen, a bathroom and a single car garage on the first floor and a basement with concrete block walls and concrete floor. The basement contained an outside door to the rear near ground level. This building became the Church Parsonage and remains the Parsonage at this writing. Elizabeth Dumann was the Pastor when the Parsonage was purchased. The house came with an adjacent vacant lot (135 feet wide by 220 feet long) immediately east of the living unit.
The Parsonage was remodeled in 1970 when Ramon Street was the Pastor. There are no records to indicate what work was done at the Parsonage in 1970.
On November 1, 1975 the indebtedness on both the Parsonage and the original temporary Church building was retired.
During 2005 a new double car garage, separate from the Parsonage, was erected b the men of the Church on the Church owned vacant lot next to the Parsonage. This allowed the original single car garage inside the Parsonage to be converted to inside living space. Some other minor renovations were done to the front of the Parsonage by the Church men. J. Bret Metcalfe was Pastor at this time and contributed much personal time and effort during the garage construction and the Parsonage renovations. A back porch was added to the Parsonage at this time. The concrete garage floor was completed by the Church laymen in 2011.
In 1979 the Church Board again began discussions about relocating and enlarging the original Church building. The next year two situations occurred which provided the Church Board with confirmation that it should proceed with the relocation and enlargement project.
1) An anonymous package containing the sum of $8000.00
(eighty- one hundred dollar bills) was discovered by the Pastor
(Rev. Paul Willette) on the parsonage doorstep the morning of
April 8, 1980. Attached to the package was the following Scripture
verse: I Corinthians 3: 10-11 "By the grace God has given me,
I laid a foundation as an expert builder and someone else
is building on it. But each one should be careful how he
builds, for no one can lay any foundation other than the
one already laid, which is Jesus Christ." (New International
Version). To this day the donor is unknown to either the Pastor or
any of the Church people.
2) Mrs. Goldie Holben, an elderly widow member of the Church,
agreed to sell her property to the Church for $6,000.00 for the erection
of a new Church building. Mrs. Holben owned the land at 1006 Rowena
Drive (U.S. Highway Route 422) adjacent to Lake Rowena, where the
Church is now located. The property, containing a two story frame house
where Mrs. Holben lived, measured 136.5 feet wide (frontage) by 244 feet
long containing 0.76 acres (about 3/4 acre). This property is within the
Borough of Ebensburg's corporate boundaries.
Mrs. Holben stipulated in the sale that she would be able to continue to live in the house on the land for as long as she desired. The Church Board accepted this offer and purchased the property in July 1979. In order to obtain a clear deed, the Church satisfied a $2,217.58 encumbrance the Pennsylvania Department of Public Assistance had attached to this property. The Church obeyed Mrs. Holben's wishes by allowing her to live in the house until her death on October 4, 1994. In the spring of 1995 the house was razed which allowed greater visibility from the highway and more room for the Church lawn.