Laura was among the first to receive the Pentecostal blessing in the Hardin Valley region. To this day many remember her as one of the godliest women they have ever known. Everybody knew her affectionately as "Aunt Laura."
Reverend Bobby Scott recalls his association with Aunt Laura during the 1960's when he served as the minister of youth at Solway Church of God:
You won't find a more godly woman on the earth. When she stood to testify, she would speak no more than ten words, and the Spirit of God would fall on the congregation.
She was very supportive of the youth ministry. She was always praying for me.
Many times when the Holy Ghost would come upon her, she would start walking the church floor swinging her hands. Her experience with God affected every facet of her worship as well as her daily life.
Charolette Hinshaw adds, "She was a blessed Saint of God. I can see her walking up and down the aisle of the church clapping her hands ever so gently and just saying, 'Wooo wooo wooo.' As she would pass by you, the power of God could be felt coming from her."
She and her brother, Frank, attended the Church of God at Solway, about four miles from their home. She would visit the sick and go from house to house inviting people to church. For years to come long-time residents of the valley would recall seeing the light of Laura's lantern at night, knowing that she was about doing the work of the Lord.
Wherever one found Laura, Frank was usually there as well.
Laura and Frank would leave home for the Sunday evening service at about 4:00 p.m.; the service started at 7:00 p.m. They would cross the field from their house there on the edge of Hardin Valley, walk about a mile down Steele Road, ford Beaver Creek or take a boat across when the water was up (later a swinging foot
bridge was added), walk about a mile down Swafford Road, take a turn onto Guinn Road and finally end up on Solway Road where the church is located. It was a total distance of about four miles.
One of the early preachers for the Church of God, George Britt, recalls Laura letting him ride her mule to church along this route when he had come to do some special revival services there at Solway. She and Frank still walked, but they insisted that Brother Britt ride the mule because he had been feeling ill.
In the late 1930s the doors of the church closed. Laura and Frank came anyway. They came to the empty church to pray. One time while they were praying, the Holy Ghost came upon one of them and a message came forth in tongues. The interpretation followed: "This church will grow, and it will become greater than it has ever been before. Great and mighty things will become of this church." In 1942 a pastor finally came, and from that point onward the church began to progress. [These dates need to be verified.]
