Memories of Wallace Heritage - Official website of Rev. JO Wallace

Naomi & Bonnie Cleatus & Mildred
just finished Cohn High and needed direction in his life, moved to Woodbine, with the J. 0. Wallaces.
Barney, a former drum major with Cohn High, took charge of the music.
By this time the old Southern district had divided and Brother Gurley had moved to pastor a church in
Corinth, Mississippi. Brother W. M. Greer was the new District Superintendent of Tennessee and he
asked J. 0. Wallace to be his assistant pastor. Later J. 0. was elected District Secretary. L. H. Hardwick
Jr. became pastor of the Woodbine church.
About this time J. W. Wallace began to look further east. "We need to carry this message beyond
Nashville, Allie. Someday we will have churches in Chattanooga and Knoxville." Glenn Wallace, the
youngest Wallace son, and his wife Marie worked on the secret Oak Ridge Manhattan project. "I don't
know what they are doing there, Dad. No one knows."
But J. W. knew he wanted to found another church. So he began to hold services in the high school
building in Oak Ridge. He drove his old Packard over winding mountain roads (no interstate highways
then) week after week leaving the services in Nashville with Brother Ellis from Michigan. Later J. W.
Wallace located a beautiful five acre plot of land on the east side of Oak Ridge and he helped the small
group of Pentecostals to purchase it. In 1953 L. H. Benson came and built the church on this property.
In 1951, Brother Wallace, still active in district work as a presbyter, was delegated as the builder
when the Tennessee district purchased their own campground. Pickwick campgrounds, of the old
Southern District, now belonged to the Mississippi District. J. W. Wallace drew up the plans and
was the head carpenter building first of all a dining hall then later the tabernacle. "And we need
our own cabin, Allie." Soon the little four-room brown camp cabin was crowded with children
and grandchildren every year at the old Tennessee campground.
In 1951 Brother A. T. Morgan, General Superintendent of the United Pentecostal Church, asked
J. 0. Wallace to serve as Publishing House manager. By this time J. W. Wallace who had
crammed a lifetime of ministering into a few short years began to have health problems.
"Building that camp tabernacle took a lot of his strength," friends noticed.
In October at the General Conference of the United Pentecostal Church, J. W. and other friends
came to the conference and stayed at his son's apartment on Compton and Haliday. During this
time he confided his health problems to his sons. "Can you come back to help me, Son? I have
tried three names of fine Pentecostal preachers but the congregation has not agreed on anyone."