Posts by new boy

24

My Bthel Experince Part 19 The Last Chapter..(really) Bethel Overseers

by new boy in

there were other people who either killed themselves or tried to kill themselves while they were at "the house of god.

one person who did kill himself was richard wheelock, press room overseer ......he jumped out of a window at the watchtower farm one day.

it seemed, he was never quite the same after his wife "willy" died.

new boy

Wheres caleb

Don't know your "code talk" but how can you me and SR and a BA at the same time? Not possible. I'm thinking like you were the front runner of BS.

NB

24

My Bthel Experince Part 19 The Last Chapter..(really) Bethel Overseers

by new boy in

there were other people who either killed themselves or tried to kill themselves while they were at "the house of god.

one person who did kill himself was richard wheelock, press room overseer ......he jumped out of a window at the watchtower farm one day.

it seemed, he was never quite the same after his wife "willy" died.

I didn't know Bob that well. Set on his table for a few months. I just thought he might give me a straight answer. He was one of the few people who I thought were real. But really anyone there in a position would sooner or later start buying into the programing BS.

24

My Bthel Experince Part 19 The Last Chapter..(really) Bethel Overseers

by new boy in

there were other people who either killed themselves or tried to kill themselves while they were at "the house of god.

one person who did kill himself was richard wheelock, press room overseer ......he jumped out of a window at the watchtower farm one day.

it seemed, he was never quite the same after his wife "willy" died.

new boy

There were other people who either killed themselves or tried to kill themselves while they were at "the house of God."

One person who did kill himself was Richard Wheelock, Press Room Overseer ......He jumped out of a window at the Watchtower farm one day. It seemed, he was never quite the same after his wife "Willy" died. She seemed to be the only one that he could relate to.......Which would make sense.....because he sure couldn't relate to any of us in the press room..........He would come over to our press and say "Here is the work... get in out".......then just walk away.......He was not the type of person you would really want to talk to anyway......but wouldn't it be nice if just now and then, like every year or two, they might ask you how you were doing?.........You Laugh.......but it’s TRUE......I asked my friend Tom Plank who was the Press Operator of Press # 6 which at the time was one of the three biggest presses at Bethel. He had been in the press room for 4 full years. He told me, that "Brother" Wheelock never once came over to ask him, how he or his family was doing, in 4 years! I didn't care much for “Mr.” Wheelock, he was never really a "brother" to me.

The truth is NONE of my Overseers asked me either! Not in the Laundry, Bindery, Elevator, or the Pressroom. Now I'm sure there were some nice overseers there that did........but I don't know who they were. Even if you worked in a "worldly factory".......I'm sure someone would come over and see how you were doing ever now and then.........But again they would care if you stayed or not.

Oh, they did care about us this one time.......I get this call to come to the bethel office immediately! We were shorthanded at the time in the factory, put I finally got a replacement to work my elevator for me. I showed up at the Bethel office with my roommate Jack Sutton. Our old friends Bob Lang and Curtis Johnson are there. Curtis starts telling us what a "reproach to the organization" our room is, with dirty dishes in the pantry and junk under the beds blah, blah........We listen to him rant for about 10 mins..........That was it!......We did something that you would NEVER do at Bethel...........We defended ourselves! We had had enough, if they wanted to kick us out because are rooms were a mess.......so be it, we didn't care anymore....We told Curtis that if he had a problem with our room why didn't he just come to us like a brother would have, has it says at Matt.18:15. That we Bethelites were hanging on by a thread and we were tired of all this "Nit picking." The whole world was coming apart........and all YOU people cared about was if are rooms are clean enough.” They just set there with their mouths open, with a look of how you dare talk to US that way.

That was it, time to pack our bags............but nothing happen......The only reason they didn't kick us out was because I think they were shorthanded at the time.

It seems everyone in the Witness organization is hung up on what position you are in. "Oh this is brother SO and SO he is a Gilead student.......or he is a Bethelite.........or he is a Pioneer........or he is and Elder........or they are in the Service Department...........or He knows someone that knows someone who was in the Writing Department. They say we are all equal............BULL SHIT........There are more class distinctions in the organization then in the U.S. Army.and you see it in all, in the "house of God" up close.......If you like politics...........you'll fit right in.

A friend of mine from the Press room wanted to leave Bethel before his time was up.......I told him "Ted just leave.......what can they do to you?"......He said "they won't let me pioneer, for 6 months"......."Oh really?" I said......."Do you mean they won't let you go out in field service?"......."No they will." he said....."So they won't let you go in service for a 100 hours a month?"........."NO they will." he said......"Oh" I said "So you can't be CALLED a pioneer"...........God, don't we just love those titles?

There is no fanfare when you leave bethel. Someone buys a 3 dollar box of ice cream at lunch for the whole table and you get a "good bye" card from everyone. The tradition in the press room is they make a handmade card with some jokes about you in it and give it to you.........you shake a few hands and you just leave. No thanks for the 4 years of your life.

I wanted more, I wanted someone in a position of power to tell me something.......Like what the hell was this all about...........So I went to Bob Wallen, he was Knorr’s personal secretary at the time, and he had been one of my table heads in the lower dining room. I really liked Bob and his wife. I said "Bob what was this all about?.............I mean there are somethings going on here that are just not right!".......He said "I know what you mean...........I look at these poor brothers in the bindery.........and I think that there but for the grace of God goes me...........and Keith, I have told the Powers that be, (he motioned into Knorr’s office) that we need to make a FEW changes here..........You, can help us by going back home and telling them how wonderful it is here!"........."What".....I said...Yes he said ...............There is just a year left until 1975 and we really need the help here......So go back home and tell them how great it is here..............or if you can't say anything good about the place......please just keep your mouth shut."

It reminded me of the movie "Catch 22" where they are trying to kill him in the whole movie and then at the end, they tell him he can leave but he must tell them back home how wonderful it is here. They want us to "Just like us!"

Welcome to the Twilight Zone.

11

My Bethel Experience Part 18. The last Bethel Tread, Blood Guilt

by new boy in

jw
friends

besides almost getting mugged a couple of times.

his folks had a fit and told him he had to go back and "do his time".........and do the "right thing"...........he told me he had just left max larson’s office, max had just told him “what a disappointment he was, to his family and to the organization!

“do you ever think about james olson?

new boy

No, the Watchtower Bible and truck society hates press!

29

Why continue to suffer??

by Tigerlove in

jw
friends

i occasionally come on this website because i have my eyes on a particular user.

because of that, i end up reading a lot of people's post.

although very interesting and hurt breaking, a lot of them are very strange.

new boy

It's pretty simple why they stay in messed up relationships. Some people would rather stay with the pain they know as opposed to the pain they don't know. Because of being a witnesses leaving a relationship is a little more costly then in other faiths.

Besides your relationship ending some or all of the following are things you might lose too.

1. The person you're with. Meaning someone will have to screw around or no one can get remarried!

2. Some or ALL your family, because witnesses like to take sides.

3. Some or ALL your friends. Since Witnesses' friends are only at the KH.

4. Some or all your money. As I did when my marriage ended.

So my friend things are a LITTLE more complicated then they look on the surface on the surface of things.

11

My Bethel Experience Part 18. The last Bethel Tread, Blood Guilt

by new boy in

jw
friends

besides almost getting mugged a couple of times.

his folks had a fit and told him he had to go back and "do his time".........and do the "right thing"...........he told me he had just left max larson’s office, max had just told him “what a disappointment he was, to his family and to the organization!

“do you ever think about james olson?

new boy

Besides almost getting mugged a couple of times. The closest, I came to getting hurt while at Bethel was in the summer in 1972, at the Allentown PA District Convention. I think its name was "The Divine Endurance."

After one day of spiritual enlightenment, Jim Pipkorn and I went to this college bar for some beers. There were these kids there that had their whole table top full of these little empty 8 oz. green bottles. They looked, just like little bottles of ginger ale we used to drink as kids.......So after having a few beers myself. I looked over at them......and said......"Hey! What is 'Rolling Rock'? Some kind of soda pop?" These four jocks.....got up and came over to our table and grabbed me, they would have bet the shit out of me, if it wasn't for......Jim saying..."He is just a fool and an idiot, please leave him alone"

The other time was in "Little Italy" in Manhattan. I was with Jim Pipkorn again. There was this really big festival going on there, like in the movie "The Godfather II." Jim and I were sitting in this door way watching everything that was happening. I was looking out at the crowd......and said......"These are MY people (because I'm Italian too)........I love all these old 300 lb. women with moustaches!" Just then I felt this liquid running down my head and all over my clothes. You guessed it. I looked up and saw a big fat Italian Lady with a moustache, pouring her wine glass out on my head. I never saw anyone laugh harder than Jim at that moment. It was me sticking my foot in my month once again.

There was another Jim, I met at Bethel, but I never saw him laugh… ever. It was Jim Olson. I met him on my freight elevator in Factory building # 1 in 1973. He was this sad, shy looking boy, he had blond hair, blue eyes, about 5' 7" He looked like he was only about 16 years old. He was from Kendallville, Indiana and was good friends with "AK Jeff" who posts here on JWD, they had studied together. He was cleaning toilets in the factory. Believe it or not, that is considered a "good job" in the home or factory, because you weren't "on production line" or on one of those damned machines....and no one was on your ass. No overseer to beg to go to the bathroom, but it was a very lonely job. You worked by yourself, there were few people to talk to, all day. He got this job because his family was friends with Max Larson. I probably saw him more than anyone and I didn't have much to say to him either, when you were there for a few years, you just didn't have much to say to the "new boys." They hadn't got it yet.

He got on my elevator one day with tears in his eyes. "What’s up?" I asked. You could tell, he didn't want to tell me, but he did.... he said ........that he couldn't take it anymore at Bethel and about a week earlier, he went back home to Indiana. He was AWOL! He didn’t tell anyone, a big no, no! He told his folks he wanted to come back home for good. His folks had a fit and told him he had to go back and "do his time".........and do the "right thing"...........He told me he had just left Max Larson’s office, Max had just told him “What a disappointment he was, to his family and to the organization!".....So what encouragement did I give this poor kid? Basically NOTHING! I told him. "Hey........Screw them........just do your time......then go home and enjoy the rest of your life." I told him basically the same thing that guy told me, my first day at bethel, which was also his last day. "Do your job and keep your mouth shut. They don't give a shit about you here!"

I didn’t know it at the time but he took off again for home. Again they made him go back. Again Max ripped him a new ass…..

The day he got back to New York was October 31, 1973. I remember that night, because it was Halloween. I was working on my car in the in the garage at the 117 Adams St. building, it was about 9:00 p.m. You could use the garage to work on your car back then, I was changing the oil in my car......when all of a sudden all Hell broke loose. All of the fire alarms went off in Building 4.......The watchmen were running around, trying to find who broke into the factory.....they looked everywhere, but could find nothing. It was very strange. The mystery was solved a few days later.

November 3, 1973 about 12:50 p.m. I'm taking everyone back to work after lunch, on elevator in building one. Everyone is standing on the sky bridges, looking out, at the back of building 4. There is an ambulance there, taking the stiff dead body of some blond hair kid out from behind the bushes surround by trash and beer cans...........it was 19 year old....... Jimmy Olson! He was stiff as a board and dead three days.

I was standing next to Norm Brecky, the ink room overseer. Next to him was Tom Combs, the Job Press overseer. Tom Combs said and I quote "He must have done something REALLY BAD to have killed himself!" Then Norm said and I quote....."I glad he jumped off the BACK of the building and not the front of the building, because we really don't need the extra publicity."

Jimmy was dead and judged on that day.

So my friends......Just who did kill James Olson? Was it the heartless religion? Was it his family? Was it the "Bethel brothers?" Was it Max Larson? I'm the only person who knows who really killed James Olson!

IT WAS ALL OF US!!!

It was the religion, his family, the people in oversight, the bethel family and ME. None of us gave a shit, about this 19 year old kid, James Olson. We all pushed him off the building that night as far as I'm concerned.

P.S.......They DID keep his body.......its buried in some unmarked grave, upstate New York "AK JEFF" told me.

P.S.S......Many years ago a friend of mine sent Max Larson a post card on October 31.....It said. “Do you ever think about James Olson? Hey, we ALL have a resurrection HOPE don't we, right?”

An organization of love would have let this kid go home.

New Boy

8

MY Bethel Experience Part 17

by new boy in

more "odds and ends".

i liked lyman swingle (governing body member)......he was from alabama, he knew how to curse at the right time.

i think, that’s why i went to him, when i was having so much trouble with my future wife’s parents.

new boy

More "odds and ends"

I liked Lyman Swingle (Governing Body Member)......He was from Alabama, he knew how to curse at the right time. I think, that’s why I went to him, when I was having so much trouble with my future wife’s parents. He seemed "cool" and down to earth. He might have been bit of a racist though.

One time a self-righteous (known as SR) new boy, went to him and complained about what he had heard in the bindery. "Brother Swingle" the kid said "I heard some brothers cursing, in the Bindery!"...........Swingle said "Really, just what in the HELL did they say?" I think, he like to shock people.

Another time my roommate was on the elevator, with Wayne Julliano (one of the Bethel barbers) and Lyman..........Wayne was wearing a black suit, with red top stitching, (Hey it was the 1970's). Wayne always dressed on the NPG side of things. Lyman looks over at him and said "Were did you get that suit? Nigger town?" Yep, he was very down to Earth. My best Swingle story is totally true!

Ronnie K (a friend of my wife who was at bethel too) from Louisiana. Told me my favorite story about Brother Swingle. ....Ronnie set on Lyman’s table. This new black kid was sitting there................Lyman said to him ......."Boy would you pass me the potatoes?"......The black brother said to Lyman....... "I'm NOT YOUR BOY!" .......To which Lyman said, not batting an eye............"NIGGER, pass the potatoes." Yes, Bethel was not the place to try and be uppity.

They don't want to hear what YOU think about things. If you have a "better idea" about how to make things work better, best thing to do is keep your mouth shut. They don't want to hear, about your better way of doing things. Or how they could be wrong about something. It doesn't matter how much experience you had in any field of work. I had cooking experience for 3 years before I came to Bethel. So where did they put me for my work assignment, the laundry. The same week I came in to Bethel, another guy came too, ........He had worked in a professional Laundry for 2 years.....so where do they put him............you guessed it.....the Kitchen.......They like you dumb, that way they can mold you and to teach you, there way of doing things, the only way of doing things "the Bethel Way." They want empty heads. That system, works really good for the rest of their religion too.

The first Apostate I ever saw a guy we called "Mr. Frog." We called him that, because he always wore a green suit. He would stand in front of the 124 building, just before lunch, screaming at the top of his lungs, on the evils of Knorr and the organization, with 100's of Bethelites walking pass him. We hated that guy. Some friends of mine wanted to beat him up, but we knew, if we were caught, there would be hell to pay.

"The locals" in Brooklyn Heights, hated us too, they had their own newspaper, where they blasting us all the time. There was this one crazy women, who was there for years, we called her "Lady Margret." She was a 300 lb. crazy women who never took a bath. She lived in "The Margret Hotel" (before it burned down) next door to the 107 building. She would follow us Bethelites down the street, yelling obscenities and every foul name you could think of............You mother f........ers, blank, blank, blank, not one sentence didn't have a curse word in it............One day walking to the factory......Right before I left.....she was there, standing on the corner...... she was saying......"You boys want any soup?...........You boys want any soup?......You boys want any soup?..........I looked over to my friend and said........."I don't believe it, it’s the first time in 4 years she hasn't cursed at us.".........The very next second after I said that, she said.......... "YOU.......BLACK BASTARDS, WHAT ANY SOUP OR NOT? We just laughed...everyone just loved us.

I didn’t get mugged in N.Y.C while I was there. I came close a few times. The factory area was a scary place late at night. If you couldn't find a parking space at 2:00 a.m. Sunday night which was the case most of the time that was the only place you might find a spot at. Walking back from there, through the park.........good luck. The Key was to walk really fast. If you spotted a group of strange people on a corner you would walk 5 blocks out of the way, to put as much distance between you and them. One of the best defenses is looking and acting totally NUTS! One time it looked like I was going to be totally cornered. I started screaming at the top of lungs......MOTHER.. F....ERS!..........MOTHER.....F.....ERS! and a little saliva running out of my mouth helps too..........I know you guys think I'm totally lying, but I swear that saved my life twice. One time on a subway. It’s late one night I'm on this subway car by myself........3 teenagers get on my car........2 from one end and one from the other end. They started walking towards me. I was wearing an army trench coat. When they were about 10 feet away, I put my hand under my coat, looking like I could have a gun on me, I grit my teeth and looked at them.......as if to say...... you want to party, let’s go!.........They looked at each other and just keep on walking. No one wants to mess with crazy people.....I don't.......do you? If you are going to mug someone, you want someone who isn't going to give you any problems.

I was in Lower Manhattan driving my piece of shit car one Saturday. I pull up to a stop sign and this tramp walks up and starts trying to clean my windshield with a rag that looked like he blew his nose in it a few times.........after 15 seconds he asked for a buck. I said "Are you Crazy? YOU give me a buck! He said "why?"............I said "I bet you make more money then me. How much money do you make a month?".....He said." I don't know, with my VA check...... maybe 3-4 hundred. .....I said "I make 22 bucks a month....YOU give ME......a BUCK".........He didn't believe me.......I'm not sure, I believe it either.

A homeless person was making more money than us a month.

A friend of mine was mugged in NYC. I guy pulled him down an alley and put a gun to his head. The mugger said “Give me your money or I’m going to blow your brains out.” My friend thought for a minute and said “You better shoot….one thing I know about New York you can live here with brains but you got to have MONEY!

6

My Bethel Experience Part 16

by new boy in

jw
friends

we are nearing the end of the journey.......so this next two chapters will be called "odds and ends" or things i didn't put in the right chapters..........because i thought of them after those chapters were written..... .

bethel joke.

three guys are sitting around, each drinking a large glass of beer.........a publisher, a pioneer and a bethelite.......just then, a fly lands in all three of their glasses of beer........the publisher....pushes the glass away and says....."i can't drink this now"...........the pioneer looks over, and picks the fly out of the beer and keeps on drinking............the bethelite.........picks up the fly by its wings and holds its head over the glass and says "spit it out......spit it out!

new boy

They all there. You just need to back far enough to see them. I have 2-3 more t post. I'm hardly getting any hits on them is why they are buried.

23

"I thought About You" Email

by BeautifulMind in

hey everyone!!

i hope everyone is doing good today.

i don't share or comment often, but i'm in the mood to do that today.

new boy

"Soon, Jehovah’s day will come."

When he will kill millions of men, women and children,

Now is the time to return to our heavenly Father’s loving arms and to the congregation

Yes, his loving arms before he kills you along with 99% of he world population.

—the only safe haven in these last days.—Deut. 33:27; Heb.

Because we are right and everyone else is screwed

6

My Bethel Experience Part 16

by new boy in

jw
friends

we are nearing the end of the journey.......so this next two chapters will be called "odds and ends" or things i didn't put in the right chapters..........because i thought of them after those chapters were written..... .

bethel joke.

three guys are sitting around, each drinking a large glass of beer.........a publisher, a pioneer and a bethelite.......just then, a fly lands in all three of their glasses of beer........the publisher....pushes the glass away and says....."i can't drink this now"...........the pioneer looks over, and picks the fly out of the beer and keeps on drinking............the bethelite.........picks up the fly by its wings and holds its head over the glass and says "spit it out......spit it out!

new boy

We are nearing the end of the journey.......So this next two chapters will be called "odds and ends" or things I didn't put in the right chapters..........because I thought of them after those chapters were written....

Bethel Joke

Three guys are sitting around, each drinking a large glass of beer.........A Publisher, a Pioneer and a Bethelite.......Just then, a fly lands in ALL three of their glasses of beer........The publisher....pushes the glass away and says....."I can't drink this now"...........The Pioneer looks over, and picks the fly out of the beer and keeps on drinking............The Bethelite.........picks up the fly by its wings and holds its head over the glass and says "Spit it out......Spit it out!"

One guy, who didn't spit it out.........we'll call him Bob.......went to Jack Sutton’s Polish wedding, in Green Point.......Now those people know how to put on a wedding! It was what we called a football wedding (a bethelites dream) because there are two bottles of booze on each table, one on each end. Well needless to say.......Bob and many others had way too much to drink, that night .......We took Bob back to bethel.......he lived in the 124 building......the "most holy".........I told my friend Dave to take him to his room and put him in bed.........Which he did.......but as soon as he left him......Bob decided to go to the men’s bathroom, down the hall........so as soon as he hit the door he passed out cold, face down on the floor......at about 4:00 in the morning, some new boy went to the bathroom and saw him......OH! My GOD!......this guy thought.....This guy is dead!......So he called the Good Doc up and told him about the "dead guy" in the bathroom. After the Doc's examination, he said "He not dead.......but will wish he was, in the morning." Well, he was in George Couch's office (Bethel home servant overseer) the next day. He did what we called the "Indian Navajo trick".............which is begging and screaming for one's life. It worked, he only got a verbal reprimand.

They don't tolerate much at bethel.......but if they kicked everyone out of Bethel, for drinking too much, the place would have shut down years ago.......So I'm driving down the FDR drive one Sunday, taking an old timer back to Bethel, (been there about 40 years) after giving a talk in my hall............ he points over to the Schafer Brewery and says " Son,......if they ever shut down that factory, pointing at the brewery, they would have to shut down that one too, pointing to Bethel!

There are stories of Bethelites back in the 1920's, 1930's 1940's that they would find passed out Sunday mornings, on the sidewalk in front of the 124 building. They would just dust them off and bring them inside. Most of the folks like their booze there, including Knorr he would get "J&B" scotch by the case. Even Nathan could have sex after a couple of scotches.

Speaking of cases of booze.

I will tell you, the story of the missing 1,500 bottles of "Fine Spanish Brandy"

It was the summer of 1973. They were having the "Divine Endurance" international conventions (not the real name..... I forgot what it was) in N.Y.C. Brothers were flying in from everywhere. Two 747's full of JWs from Spain, were going through the factory on tour. My friend Armando, who speaks Spanish was taking this group on a tour through the factory. It happen to be the tour that had the Spanish Overseer in charge of the whole thing in it. At the end of the tour.....the Spanish brother said to Armando......."My friend....We have a gift for you and all the other Bethelites here, at the World Head Quarters. All of the brothers and sisters from Spain have chipped in to buy you and all the other HARD working Bethelites a bottle of 'Fine Spanish Brandy'............and this is your bottle!".........as he was giving him the bottle, the Spanish brother asked "So who would we talk to, about how to distribute the other 1500 bottles?"......" Well, I guess" Armando said "That would be George Couch......The Bethel Home Overseer"

That night, Armando come over to our room, and told us this story..........as we were drinking a glass of HIS "Fine Spanish Brandy."

You guessed it.........it has been over 40 years and I still haven't seen my bottle of brandy. Oh they got passed around alright.........and you have a good idea who got them. We even saw some of those bottles show up at local Elder's homes in the N.Y.C. area. The bethel “heavies” and their friends got it!

Something else happen that week. "The Great Grease Gun Fight of 73"........Most of the factory overseers were at the convention, so it was a loose ship there. That week we had the most tours going through the factory I have ever seen, they were like one tour after the other. The fight was between the press room guys and the "inkies" (Ink room personnel)......I think it started with someone putting a gob of grease in some other guy's shoes. It soon escalated into a full blown grease gun war. The grease guns were used to grease the presses and other machinery......they work by a lever action and they could shot a thick gob of grease about 15 feet. At one point the "inkies" high jacked my elevator for about 30 mins. I found in in the basement about 10 floors away. I got it back and headed for the ink room. They then they flipped the safety switch, so when I got in my elevator and shut the door, the elevator was dead.........they looked in the little glass window in the door.......I was trapped like rat in a cage, as they were laughing they put their grease guns in three tiny holes and shot me head to toe with grease. Then I finally remembered the safety switch and got out of there. I went up to the press room for reinforcements, Tom Plank and me grabbed our grease guns and went down to the 5th floor. We hit the door of the ink room with grease guns blazing. As I was chasing Mike Stillman through side door...........as the door flew opened...............grease was whizzing passed his head........Yep! You guessed it, a tour of about 10 brothers and sisters were on the other side. I had nailed 2 "sister's"......dresses........globs grease! I was screwed.

The door shut behind Mike.........The tour thought it was funny.............we knew it wasn't going be. The new boy tour guide turned us in. There was only one thing.......to do and that was, turn myself in and do "the Indian Navajo trick"............and beg them, not kick me out........of the "house of God."

Funny isn’t it. I begged them not to kick me out. Please “Brothers” don’t stop the beatings!