Mercedes Benz

Paw, More thanks to you than words can express.

Kristin, Excathedra, I am so terribly sorry for the crimes committed against you. Thank you for your courage. You ladies are my heroines.

Wow, haven't seen her in years but have very fond memories. I thought she got out in the late 80's - hope that's accurate.

Worked my tail off one summer at Gunnison while in residence during Family Camps. I can remember ironing sheets until all hours of the night. They were pretty fanatical about every aspect of those camps to ensure that the campers had a top notch experience. In some ways the level of detail that went into the various areas of those camps surpassed the ROA. I always hoped to be on the camper side someday to see how it felt but I checked out of the ministry before I ever went.

Just bringing this up to the top in case anyone knows anything about her.

He was a huge factor in my leaving TWI. That decision moved me to make subsequent decisions which have led me to a wonderful life. However, I am not giving him credit for anything other than the above. The rest was God's doing.

Yeah, there was the pond out back where the swans lived. Many Corps weddings were performed there. I remember raking leaves on the grass out front and shoveling snow on the circle drive at odd hours of the morning. I made some great friends working on the Grounds crew. Reading this article was creepy for me - and also sad. I went here with a heart full of love for God. I left there knowing the ministry was a mess and that I would never be back.

Erv and his wife Lynda live near Westminister, Maryland. I believe his parents still live there as well. They have two kids and last I heard were doing well. I don't have an email address but I bet you could find their phone number without too much trouble. Erv and Lynda are wonderful people. I have many great memories with each of them.

Left staff in '87 and faded into the sunset in NY. By then I'd seen enough to leave and never look back.

Anybody remember a band called "Selah" that sold their tapes/records at the ROA? It's been a long time, so possibly I'm confusing things - maybe this was the album's name instead of the band's. My WOW family coordinator had it and I used to listen to it quite often. I would love to get a copy of it.

I was involved in a dispute with several other people who were likewise sentenced to Gunnison. (You might imagine how such a thing could easily arise given 14 hour work days, complete exhaustion and an environment electrified with fear.) It was sort of a group disagreement. Arlene (Mrs. TJ) had spoken with me and the other's involved individually earlier in the day and asked for some specific details. When I met with her I told her things which happened to be extremely relevant to solving the situation. She said that Tom should meet with all parties involved at once, and during said meeting, I should repeat what I had told her and everything should be easily resolved. Well, at the beginning of the meeting Arlene told TJ that she had met with all of us one on one and then she asked me to speak. I barely got 2 words out of my mouth before TJ began foaming at the mouth in my direction. He just started screaming - without having any handle on the problem. I then realized that he had no real desire to help anyone involved in this matter. I supose he thought that by screaming and ranting at us all he would enhance his own reputation as the "big man." I remember Arlene looking from TJ to me and once feebily trying to say something. Then she shut up and let him rip each of us apart. I felt pity for her but I also lost all respect for her that day. He wanted to be a harda$$. He so wanted to be that slick leader that LCM was promoting. And he was ruthless in his ways. He seemed to think the way to 'train' corps was to annihilate them. I know several people that he systematically destroyed from the day they got to Gunnison. He wiped away their very dignity. He was just a nasty little man.

Quoted from Excathedra: "and i was doing something on my hands and knees with rocks, i believe, but i can't for the life of me remember what it was" ______________________________________________________________________ This really made me laugh! I too had to straighten those rocks which bordered all the gravel walkways - it was a daily job. My parents came out to Gunnison before the ROA and saw the Corps doing that - thats when they started believing that we were all being mistreated. My mother was convinced they ordered us do it just to see if we'd do anything they asked. Yes, it was a beautiful place. But when TJ ran the joint, it was hell. By the way, I had always heard that TWI purchased the property from a believer whose family had owned the land for many years. I also heard that they sold it to TWI for a fraction of what it was really worth, since they were , after all believers. God I really hope that wasn't true.

I left when I realized that the person I had been when I first went to a twig fellowship in the late 70's would no longer be welcome in The Way of LCM. That the Twig people who had overlooked my pot smoking, unorthodox lifestyle and embraced me, helped me to heal, would have gotten in trouble with their branch cordinator for allowing me through the front door. When it was no longer okay for me to refer to VPW as "Vic" in front of my Twig coordinator. I can remember the moment when I realized that the person I once had been would no longer have been viewed by Way people as "God's masterpiece" with a little baggage, but rather someone worthly of ridiculing on a Sunday night tape. Someone to distain. I left when I no longer saw the love.

While on staff at HQ the year after the POP hit, I had occasion to speak with two people, specifically wives of the BOT - who told me they were involved in the voting process which included all the BOT and their wives. Also included were wives of deceased "early" Way members. They said there were several people nominated and that they discussed the merits of each as a group. The names I heard mentioned were Walter, Ralph, LCM, John Lynn and Vince. One wife told me point blank that she had voted for Ralph. She made it clear the vote was not unanimous in LCM's favor and that they had to take several votes to break ties. She said some felt Craig was too ambitious to be a safe choice. Apparently, his desire to be the hier apparent was obvious to some from his early days in the Corps.

Wow - seeing her name here made me smile. She was a great girl - no pretenses, just real. Last time I saw her was in 1990. She was married and living in Philly. Sorry, but I can't remember her married name.