Nick Welsh's piece on efforts to secure landmark status for the Second Baptist Church on Gutierrez Street shed new light on early Santa Barbara history, and it brought back fond memories of Rev. Leander Wilkes's tenure as pastor of that church.
Few may recall that Rev. Wilkes's entire family were celebrated members of the community, including his wife, Thelma, who worked in the Financial Aid Department at UCSB, his son, Jamal, who was a L.A. Lakers superstar and member of one of the famed NBA championship teams, and his daughter, Gail, who was a teacher in the Santa Barbara School District.
I was honored to give sermons on two occasions in that church in the early 2000s and enjoyed friendship with members of Rev. Wilkes's family before and after he passed away in 2005.