Type: Photopage 50

At home of George Henry and Agnes Gross on Cloud Avenue. Guests shown are Dessie Randall Thomas, unknown and unknown

In eastern Lakeland are Gertrude Brooks, Morris Crump, and Viola Brooks.

Sergeant Leroy W. Pitts, the son of Harold and Julia Pitts, was born in 1941 at Freedman’s Hospital in the District of Columbia. He grew up in Lakeland and was educated in Lakeland schools through junior high school. In 1964, he married Virginia Pumphrey. They had a daughter, and he helped raise two step-children. In 1966, Pitts was inducted into the United States Army and served in Vietnam.

George Randall, Ellen Hunter Randall, and their three eldest children--Lucy, Dessie, and Victor, left to right--in about 1913.

55th Avenue Block 44 Lots 7,8,9,10 & 11 Leon E. & Marionette T. Kelley

Lot 5

In 1961, College Park officials recognized the need to improve and renovate some of Lakeland’s homes, many of which had been damaged by the frequent flooding. To carry out the improvements, city officials adopted an urban renewal plan in 1970. It mandated redevelopment of Lakeland’s eastern and western sections, about two-thirds of the community. Residents of the affected areas vacated their homes in the mid-1970s. They were compensated for the value of their homes and promised an opportunity to return to new housing units when construction was completed. The project was expected to take a few years. However, it took much longer because problems plagued the project, due to changes in regulations and policies within the federal government. Over time, economic forces and other issues produced vast changes in the redevelopment plan, with consequent delay after delay. The ruins of homes, such as those along a section of Lakeland Road, pictured below, blighted the community for more than five years.

Lot 6 Block 35 Urban Renewal Authority Parcel 3 Lot 10 Possibly Walter W. Bey

Baltimore Avenue, Downtown College Park near Dry Cleaners

Photograph of the members of the Lakeland High "last class" of 1950, pictured in 2000 on their trip to Wildwood, New Jersey. These classmates have maintained lifelong friendships. The group enjoys evenings out, picnics, and trips together. They also sponsor the Edgar A. Smith Scholarship--named for Lakeland High School's longtime principal--an award given to graduates of local high schools.

On March 28, 1969, an event was held to honor Rev. Robert H. Baddy’s nine years as pastor of Embry A.M.E. Church. Baddy was born in the Hillsdale area of the District of Columbia and was ordained in 1935. A variety of church, community, and religious leaders made congratulatory remarks during the tribute, including former Lakeland School Principal Edgar A. Smith; civic leader J. Chesley Mack; former Embry pastor Rev. James R. Gibson; and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photograph ©2008 Joanne M. Braxton.)

Unknown

Communal meals are a traditional part of celebrations at Lakeland’s churches. Members of Embry A.M.E. Church have lunch in their parish hall following a Sunday service in 1943. Among those at the table are the pastor, Rev. Jesse A. Williams (wearing the collar), and his wife, seated to his right; and former pastor Rev. Herman R. Curtis and his wife (far side of the table, first and second from the left). At the head of the table to the right is Leon Robinson, a longtime church member and trustee.

yearbook picture

Edwards home

By 1981, the rebuilding of Lakeland was at last underway. A process that was expected to take a few years was plagued by bureaucratic problems and policy changes. In fact, rebuilding took decades. Single-family homes were ultimately replaced with high-rise apartment buildings and townhomes. The lake in the eastern section was enlarged, and that area became Lake Artemesia Park. Only a few single-family homes were built. (Courtesy of the City of College Park, Maryland.)

Leon & Marionette Kelley 55th Ave no house # Block 44 Lot 11

4802 Lakeland Rd & 4812 Lakeland Rd - Contract CPURR-11

Dervey and Thelma Lomax in celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary renewed their vows in a garden event at their home on Navahoe Street. Rev. Milton Covington, their pastor from First Baptist Church officiated just as he had fifty years before.

Lakeland Day parade sponsored by Lakeland Civic Association in celebration of the community's Centennial