Laurelbrook Academy SDA Church

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Mr. Bob Zollinger Talks About Laurelbrook's Beginning

 

 

On September 14, 2019, the Laurelbrook church service began with a welcome and announcements by Michael (senior). All the announcements were in the bulletin. These included

 

Freddy (sophomore) played an introit, Michael had the invocation, and the congregation sang “The Lord in Zion Reigneth”. Michael had the Morning Prayer, and the congregation sang “Hear Our Prayer, O Lord”.

 

Michael then called for the morning offerings; the loose offerings went toward the local church budget.  Freddy played while Sebastian Roy-Lavallee and Gustavo (junior) collected the offerings.  The congregation sang “Praise God, From Whom All Blessings Flow”, and Michael prayed for the offerings.

 

Leilani (senior) read the scripture reading – Matthew 6:31-33 “31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Beth Brandt told the children a story about a young preacher who came to Laurelbrook about 25 years ago. Later the Brandts took their old van on a vacation that would take them near where this preacher lived. Beth worried about meeting him and lost a needle in the old shag carpet.  She prayed about finding the needle.  She did find the needle and had the impression that she was special to God.

Yzzynne (sophomore), her mother, and Essence (9^th grader) sang a vocal trio for special music. Mr. Bob Zollinger talked about “The Beginning of Laurelbrook”. Bob Zollinger had the closing prayer.

 

Personnel Other Than Students:

 

Beth Brandt – wife of Clayton Brandt, who works with Laurelbrook’s heavy equipment

Bob Zollinger – past Laurelbrook president / past Laurelbrook board chairman

Sebastian Roy-Lavallee – Laurelbrook’s men work coordinator / local head church deacon

 

Following are some notes from the sermon on “The Beginning of Laurelbrook”:

 

1. Matthew 6:31-33 “31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
2. This text was the motto of the Straws, the people at Little Creek who had the most to do with the founding of Laurelbrook.
3. 1900 – Australia, the country where Ellen White had spent nine years.  The Lord gave her a message that things in the church were not moving in the right line so she returned to the United States. 
4. She was shown that the church needed to be reorganized so that all the various modes of Adventist work would be controlled by the church. The publishing houses were publishing materials that had falsehoods in them. The medical work was larger than the rest of the church’s work.
5. There was a big problem with Adventist education. God was calling for an educational reform. As a result, Vol. 6 of the Testimonies dealt with needed educational reforms.
6. Two educators – Ed Sutherland and Percy Magan – tried to implement these reforms but eventually resigned from the work.  Ellen White told them this was a mistake. She encouraged them to found the Madison school.
7. Ellen White’s counsel was to start schools similar to Madison.  Many small schools were started due to this counsel; one of these schools was started in Knoxville – Little Creek School.
8. This school was to help start other schools. They started the junior worker program to do this.
9. Eight orphan children were brought to Little Creek to go to school.  Mr. Bob was one of these.
10. Little Creek’s plan was to try to help their students to find their special place in life.
11. Mr. Straw told Mr. Bob that God wanted him to dedicate his life to the Lord and also wanted him to start a school of his own. That he was young was no disadvantage.
12. His training was different from just sitting in a classroom or playing sports. He went to see Prof Straw, who gave him a project to do – checking the water pump twice a day.  Mr. Bob progressed to keeping the school’s books. Then he helped with purchasing.
13. He went to town despite the need to go to class.
14. Mr. Bob then trained in a machine shop making items for the wartime U.S. Navy. This training helped Little Creek make or fixed needed equipment in the Little Creek Sanitarium.
15. About the time he was to graduate from 12^th grade, he became the Little Creek boys’ dean.
16. He joined the junior worker program that taught him how to start a school and various things. He became part of a committee to start another school.  The group searched various places in Tennessee for property to start a school.
17. The Graysville minister came to enroll his son in Little Creek and found it was full with a waiting list. Little Creek want to cap the student enrollment at 50.
18. The minister directed them to Dayton Mountain to the Winsett estate, a 23-acre property. The group prayed. Mr. Bob’s grandfather’s sister had married the chief surgeon at Battle Creek. This couple left the Adventist church, moved to Virginia, and died.
19. This grandfather was owed money by this sister and said that he would give money to start the school if his sister’s estate would pay up. This was used to start the Little Creek Foundation dedicated to founding schools. Eventually, this foundation merged with the Layman’s Foundation.
20. Little Creek contacted all their parents to tell them that they were going to start an extension school.  14 students and four advanced students joined forces to begin Laurelbrook.
21. Girls were housed in a tenant house and a block storehouse and another storehouse.  They used what buildings they had.
22. The boys lived in an old farmhouse nearby with an outhouse.  Water came from the “big house”, the original Winsett Estate farmhouse.
23. Eventually they realized they needed a sanitarium, the school, and a farm.
24. One Sabbath they packed to go to Graysville. Then they saw the Blevens farmhouse in the “bottoms’ on other side of the creek was on fire.  They fought the fire for the family, but it was a total loss. The Blevins' son sold the farm to Laurelbrook. After a series of reductions in the price, the needed money came from friends of the school in just two weeks.