Lawrence Baldridge's life has been a life marked by service to his fellowman, his community, and his Creator. Lawrence and Martha were called to Pippa-Passes in 1964, when He became the pastor of the Caney Baptist Church, a position he has held for thirty-six years since. Along with pastoring the church, during the early 1960's and 1970's he taught for six years at Alice Lloyd College, touching the lives of many students. During that time he was the one who invited Senator Robert Kennedy to Alice Lloyd College, and along with his class he had to opportunity to meet and to speak with Senator Kennedy. Also during those years Baldridge started a Christian organization, the Baptist Student Union, on the college campus, and it is still ongoing and very active.

Baldridge was also organizer and president of the Pippa Passes Kiwanis Club which gave birth to the Gingerbread Festival.  As president of the Kiwanis, Baldridge appointed Ron Daley as the director of that festival and gave the festival its name.   In 1974 Lawrence and his wife Martha were appointed Southern Baptist home missionaries to Pippa Passes, Ky. Under their leadership they brought the Headstart Program to Pippa Passes on two different occasions, and also started a Senior Citizens Nutrition Program in the basement of Caney Baptist
Church. This program served the needs of the elderly for fifteen years Baldridge was actively involved in representing Knott County in the LKLP Community Action Council and the Ky. River Area Development District, and received an-Outstanding Regional Leader Award from KRADD. While serving with the Area Development District he was one of the few voices urging a return of severance tax monies to Knott County and other coal producing counties in the area. He also encouraged Governor Julian Carroll to rebuild Ky 80 with severance tax monies, a proposal that Governor Carroll announced a week later. Baldridge has also been involved with the Mountain Housing Corporation to get new homes for the needy. He has also for many years coordinated church groups from outside the area who come in to repair and sometimes build home for low-income families and individuals.

Two things Baldridge greatly enjoyed doing was writing editorials for the Troublesome Creek Times for five years, and being on live television on Channel 12 for five years with his good friend Dick Bowers in the widely acclaimed "Baldridge and Bowers Show".   Presently, along with pastoring Caney Baptist Church.  Baldridge and his wife Martha operate the Baptist Center to help meet the needs of low-income people.  Baldridge is a volunteer at the Knott County Nursing Home and at the Caney Rehabilitation Center, where he also serves on the Community Advisory Board.  

Baldridge is married to Martha Lingerfelt Baldridge who was born and raised in Bahia, Brazil, the daughter of Southern Baptist missionaries from Tennessee. They met in Louisville and married in 1963. They are very proud of their three children and two grandchildren Ruth, a doctor who specializes in Family Practice, is on the faculty of the University Of Tennessee Medical School in Knoxville, TN. David works for the Corps of Engineers in Nashville, TN, is the father of Justin (ten years old) and Rebecca (four years old), and is married to Holly (Moore) from Arkansas. Mary is finishing her PhD in Spanish   Baldridge feels that the two things that shaped his life of service were his faith in Christ and his attending
Caney Junior College (now Alice Lloyd), from which he received a scholarship to the University of Kentucky, living with other Caney students at the Caney Cottage.

 Baldridge received a Master's Degree in Urban Studies from the University of Louisville, and a Master's Degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, also in Louisville. He later earned a Master's in Social Work from the University of Kentucky. In addition, he received a scholarship from the Courier Journal to study new towns in Europe in 1968. He also invited the University of Louisville to bring the Community Development and Urban Studies program to the campus of Alice Lloyd College. As a result of that program, which he originally coordinated,
about 100 people from Knott and surrounding counties earned their Master's Degree in Community Development and Urban Studies Lawrence has served with two county judges. He also worked for one year as the Coordinator for the Community Development Initiative, and has helped the Hazard Community College and the June Buchanan School as a teacher in both institutions. He has also been featured in three books on Appalachia, and a film about his work was shown around the nation.

 Submitted by Corbett Mullins