by Farkel 747 Replies latest watchtower scandals
Then, a decade later[1930], William Jr. was living in South Carolina where he worked as "Manager of Bottling Plant," presumably a bottling plant for Coca Cola.
Was William P. Heath Jr. the source of the "direct contribution" used to purchase Beth Sarim?
--VM44
Has anyone looked into the Coca Cola company to see if they have any histories relating to William Heath Sr. and Jr.?
Athanasius.....I tried googling on Coca-Cola, but found little. There was someone in the late 1880s of importance in Coca-Cola named "WC Heath" who was the chief chemist for the company, and once on the web the name was given as "WP Heath". But I have not seen any indication that the first name was "William" and whether the initial "C" was in error.
I'm surprised no one has commented on the most important thing about my last post...that William Heath Jr. had already been married before marrying Bonnie Boyd. He managed a Coca-Cola bottling plant in South Carolina in the late twenties and married a local named Dorothy. Then, in the latter thirties, he married Bonnie. Did he leave his wife to marry Bonnie or were they already divorced? That would be an interesting question.
VM44....Beth-Shan: The House Coca-Cola Built? Re Beth-Sarim, I guess it depends on when he became a Bible Student/Witness and when he got his inheritance. I guess this is not known either? This would be a question the old timers might know.....I wonder if Ray Franz or other ex-Bethelites might know some of this old history....such as when he joined the BoD. Well, he was on it in February 1939, that is for sure, but apparently in 1930 he was still in South Carolina working for Coca-Cola. Now, his father died in June 1933 if my sources are right, so I suppose he didn't get his fortune until then.
Any info in the Moyle transcripts, anyone? What does it say about Heath, if anything?
Hi Leolaia,
According to William P. Heath Jr.'s testimony at the Moyle trial (pg 1259) he became a JW in 1932. Before that he said the he didn't belong to any organized religion, though he claimed to have attended many churches (pg 1295). Also of interest is the fact that Heath's mother was also a JW. She originally became a Bible Student in 1915. Heath first became aquainted with Rutherford in 1934. Heath married Bonnie in Las Vega, Nevada in 1938.
Page 1296 of the transcripts has some very interesting material. Moyle's attorney Walter Bruchhausen questions William Heath Jr.
Q. By the way, was there any particular reason for getting married in Nevada?
Heath: No.
Q. Had you been divorced?
Heath: Yes.
Q. How long had you been divorced before you married in Nevada?
Heath: Oh, just a short time.
Q. How short?
Heath: Beg pardon?
Q. How short?
Heath: I think about a week.
It is very intersting that Heath was granted a divorce from his first wife in Nevada and then married Bonnie the following week in the same state. Quickie divorces were legal in Nevada and probably it is still legal there today. Therefore, Heath was still married to his first wife when he went to Bethel in 1937. JFR not only knew of Heath's marital status when he added him to his intimate circle, but also approved of Heath's quickie divorce. Such divorces were very common among the Hollywood set, but were quickie divorces and remarriages common among the rank and file JWs of that era? I don't think so.
Unfortunately Moyle's attorney didn't ask Heath about the grounds for the divorce. However, the circumstances surrounding Heath's divorce makes me think that he got what the JWs today would call an "un-Scriptural divorce."
Wow, that's great confirmation! Looks like the gaps are being filled piece by piece. William did indeed divorce his first wife immediately before marrying Bonnie, and that means that he had been married for about 8 years. Plus, thanks to the new research, we now know the name of his first wife. And that's interesting that Heath's mother became a Bible Student as early as 1915. From what I've discovered, she was originally Presbyterian. But the big unanswered question is how did he get so cozy with Rutherford. I gotta think it's just one reason: Coca-Cola $$$$.
I have often heard that Coca Cola used to use cocaine in their formula aorund the turn of the century. Am I to believe that a sacred place of Jehovah's Witnesses was built on drug money?
athanasius,
: According to William P. Heath Jr.'s testimony at the Moyle trial (pg 1259) he became a JW in 1932. Before that he said the he didn't belong to any organized religion, though he claimed to have attended many churches (pg 1295). Also of interest is the fact that Heath's mother was also a JW. She originally became a Bible Student in 1915. Heath first became aquainted with Rutherford in 1934.
Since we know that Beth Sarim was built in 1929 from "funds contributed to the purpose" and since William Heath claimed he didnot become a JW until 1932 and did not become acquanted with Rutherford until 1934, we could assume it was not Heath who contributed the money for Beth Sarim.
But what about his MOTHER who became a Bible Student in 1915? She and her husband were the ones will willed their money to Heath when they died? Could she have been that mysterious "donor" the WTS has never chosen to reveal, and could Heath himself have been the one to donate the money for Beth Shan where she and Bonnie lived?
Also, isn't it logical to assume that William and Bonnie had already developed a romantic relationship and were already in love before he got his quickie divorce from his first wife? After all, they only married a WEEK after the divorce.
The plot thickens in the land of moral and "spiritual paradise" that is known as Watchtowerism.
Farkel
Brief TIMELINE review thus far...
1869..."Judge" Joseph F. Rutherford is born in Missouri.
1887...August H. Balko, Jr. is born in Texas.
1899...Bonnie Boyd is born in Iowa.
1901...Berta L. Teel is born in North Carolina.
1905...Blanch P. ? is born in Missouri.
1917...Judge is elected President of the WTBTS.
1921/22...August Balko & Blanch P. are married in Texas.
1923...*Mary M. Rutherford takes up residence in Monrovia, California.
*Bonnie Boyd moves to Bethel with her mother at the invitation of Van Ambergh and serves as Judge's stenographer.
*Berta Teel marries Alfred Peale.
1925...Judge's secretary, Arthur Goux, is replaced by Donald Haslet.
1929...*Robert J. Martin goes to San Diego and transfers the title for 2 lots purchased by Dr. Albert E. Eckols into his own name and contracts the construction of Beth-Sarim.
*Princess Bonnie C. Balko is born in Texas.
1930...Accompanied by Bonnie Boyd and Donald Haslet, Judge takes up residence in Beth-Sarim, as does August Balko, Blanch Balko, and Princess Bonnie.
193?...Berta Peale & Bonnie Boyd meet and attend a convention together in Europe.
1931...Prince Joseph Barak Balko is born.
1932...William Heath is baptized.
1934...*Heath meets the Judge.
*Matthew Howlett becomes Judge's personal nurse.
1937...*Heath is invited to Bethel to serve as Judge's personal secretary. He and Bonnie Boyd both accompany the Judge on a speaking tour through Europe for 6-8 weeks.
*Heath, Bonnie Balko and her mother accompany Judge to Beth-Sarim for the winter.
1938...*In January, Heath gets a divorce from his wife and, 1 week later, marries Bonnie Boyd in Las Vegas.
*Judge's personal nurse, Matthew Howlett, leaves to do zone work in Ohio.
*Berta Peale leaves her husband, Alfred, and comes to Bethel to serve as Judge's dietician.
1939...*Berta Peale's husband sues for divorce on grounds of abandonment.
*Matthew Howlett returns to serve as Judge's nurse until Judge's death in 1942.
*William Heath purchases the Beth-Shan property and is serving on the Watch Tower Board of Directors as well as being Judge's personal secretary.
1940...*Deed to Beth-Shan is conveyed to WTBTS, Heath having erected a house there and made other improvements to the property. William Heath and Bonnie Boyd Heath are allowed to live at Beth-Shan.
*Alfred Peale is granted a divorce from Berta (Teel) Peale.
1942...The Judge dies.
...please feel free to insert anything I have missed or correct any errors...
Farkel:
Thanks for sharing the "intimate" details about the corrupt Rutherford..........it also reinforces how corrupt the WTBS is....they certainly live by double standards.
Codeblue
MerryMag----thank you too for putting the timeline on everything!
