My Bethel Memories

by ithinkisee 92 Replies latest members private

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  forgetmenot

  OMG!

  I had no idea. When I went to breakfast with my aunt and her friends (all Dubs) two weeks ago, they were talking about a brother who just finished his bethel service. Apparently he now has a girlfriend. It seemed like a shock to them (and I think they wanted to shock me too, since I remain single).

  His brother is still there. I wonder how he's doing. My sister thought he would go away and marry some girl with red hair (maybe a dream she had?). Anywho, he seems like an over zealous type. Wonder how his experiences are...

  Wow...yea the only thing I heard about bethel is that if your qualified for some cool job, you'll probably end up cleaning toliets. Never can say that I wanted to go...but now your stories make me think I would have had more fun than I thought...hmm...j/k...college life is enough fun for me!

  TTFN
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  jesussaves

  I know this topic is old...but LOL!! LOL!! LOL!!

  I also visited Bethel as a young woman between 18-21 looking for dudes. I had two very good friends there. They like to call themselves the fabulous Baker boys (they're still there). They are both very good looking and in their thirties, but both STILL SINGLE and supposedly virgins!!! Yeah, right...

  Tiffany
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  Uzzah

  Having been on the "tour route" we were looking at you as much as you were checking us out!
  
  Pretty pathetic that gals were interested in guys who had everything done for them versus guy who were out there slugging it out in the real world.
  
  Thus the life of the JW male
  
  Uzzah
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  Nellie

  How funny!

  I was never a Bethelite - but living in NYC, there's one in every congregation!

  The stories reminded me though of a common outing for NY congregations... visits to the farm and - ta da - the Brotherhood Winery! You can't go visit the farm, without stopping at the winery, where everyone was treated to FREE SAMPLES!

  If you can only imagine the stuff that went on during the busride home!

  Actually, one of my fondest memories is playing a game of RCK (run, catch, kiss) in the woods of the Winery while the adults were off getting toasted! LOL
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  nowisee

  truth about the truth:

  i eventually married the bethelite who initially took me on tour....... i know i would take my bible studies in to tour bethel at every chance. wasn't there some numerical reference code that the boys used to communicate there was a young sister on tour? i forget what it was.....

  room 215:

  you were there in late 60's and yr. roommate was a plumber? my x was a plumber - there also in late 60's. hmmm. he loved the job for the freedom it gave him -- he could be anywere at all and it could be legitimate.

  i had been a very "theocratic" pioneer before meeting him, and i think i learned a whole new way by viewing things through his eyes and his experiences. i learned who was "cool" and who was a self-righteous p---k at bethel. it seemed there were two classes of people at bethel, -- and i don't mean anointed and other sheep! lol.

  i heard lots of stories about the gay "purges", the massage sessions, the phantom "boobie tester", i.e. the guy who would go into sisters' rooms at night and fondle them and would flee into the dark when they awoke; the guy who locked himself into a stall in the women's bathrooms to watch the sisters shower....

  oh many stories.... i took part in some of them, as i dated my x for more than 2 and l/2 yrs while he was "serving his time".

  those days are long gone, thank goodness.
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  Dogpatch

  Great stories!

  I was a special pioneer before going to Bethel in 1974 and was a total SR. As the years went by I mellowed out and (obviously) became a BA and had a great time after that. Several of us in the pressroom developed our own underground and even up to the day I turned in my letter of disassociation, most who did not know me thought I was self-righteous, because I knew the system and how to work it. I became floor overseer of building 3 6th floor (Bible presses) and we would haze any of the goons from the 7th floor who printed the magazines. We made our own secret cartoon books with pictures cut out from the publications, see

  see http://www.freeminds.org/bethel/toons/quak.htm

  and http://www.freeminds.org/bethel/toons/cabeen.htm

  pressroom conversion tales http://www.freeminds.org/bethel/toons/convert1.htm

  At first I was roommates with Milan Miller who travelled the world setting up MAN presses, so for the first year or so I had his nice room all to myself!

  Those were the good ol' days, before the Franz incident, when the whole friggin' place got whacked out:

  http://www.freeminds.org/bethel/incident.htm

  Randy

  http://www.randytv.com
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  stillAwitness

  I bet a alot goes on in bethel behind closed doors. You should write a whole book based on your expierences. I'd definetly read it
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  purplesofa

  I was looking for another thread and found this one, thought someone might like reading it.

  purps
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  purplesofa

  thought some new ones would enjoy this thread, I surely enjoyed this poster,

  purps
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  Found Sheep

  thanks for bringing that back.... raised in a Walkill congregation with more Bethel elders then "local" my brother was in for 10 + years and it changed him!!! bethel became his family and I was nothing!!!