JONESTOWN SURVIVOR - Book 2 is in the Works! I am excited to say that I am resuming my work on my second book. I am setting the deadline for my first draft mid-June 2019. This book will have four parts: Updates on all things Peoples Temple/Jonestown that I have learned since I wrote my first book Jonestown Survivor: An Insider’s Look in 2009 and published it in 2010. Putting Peoples Temple and the rise of Jim Jones in Historical Perspective. Jonestown and Guyana - last March, seven of us returned to Guyana and Jonestown. My husband Ron, and son Raul, Jordan Vilchez (a fellow ...
» continue readingWhat if Congressman Ryan Had NOT Visited Jonestown? A question that comes up often, and did again today, from a researcher/friend, is: Would the deaths in Jonestown have happened without Congressman Leo Ryan's visit tipping Jim over the edge? Here are my 2 cents: Basically, there was a lot going on affecting Jonestown and Jim in the summer of 1978 - Jim was increasingly paranoid, mentally ill, isolated, and more addicted to drugs Jim learned that Jonestown would never be self-sufficient for the residents - 1,000 and another 1,000 waiting to come over - his original plan was for 600 but he oversold it. The ...
» continue readingKohl Speech for 40th Anniversary It is wonderful to see everyone here. Some who could not make the trip are awaiting our photos and thoughts as well. When I reflect on my nearly 9 years in Peoples Temple, I feel that it was both one of the highlights and one of the deepest traumas of my life. When I was in Peoples Temple in both California and in Guyana, I felt committed to an idea, even a dream, that took me outside of my personal needs. I found a community that asked much of the members. I thought that I was making ...
» continue readingJudy Bebelaar and Ron Cabral were teachers at Opportunity High School in San Francisco. They got to know many of our Peoples Temple youth. Now, they've written a book about them -- And then, they were gone. Here is the link: https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/books/teachers-recall-students-they-lost-in-jonestown-in-and-then-they-were-gone Teachers recall students they lost in Jonestown in ‘And Then They Were Gone’ Sam Whiting November 6, 2018 Updated: November 16, 2018, 9:20 am Judy Bebelaar with an unidentified student at Opportunity II High School.Photo: Mary Delema, Margaret Copeland/TerraGrafix Each November the names of the dead come to Judy Bebelaar as if she’s back in class for roll call. Rory Bargeman, Wesley Breidenbach, Marilee Bogue, Joyce Brown, Dorothy ...
» continue readingIn 1978, 918 people died at the hands of cult leader Jim Jones, but Laura Johnston Kohl lived to tell By Francisca Jones This article was published April 14, 2018 at 4:30 a.m. PHOTO BY SPECIAL TO THE DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE Jonestown survivors Laura Johnston Kohl (left) and Jordan Vilchez pause at the grave in Guyana devoted to the 918 people who lost their lives on Nov. 18, 1978. Johnston Kohl recounted her experiences as a member of Peoples Temple and her visit last month to Guyana during “Don’t Drink the Kool-Aid: Advice from a Jonestown Survivor” at Arkansas Tech University on April 5. Laura Johnston Kohl’s Guyana ...
» continue readingAs a Jonestown Survivor, I was interviewed for a YouTube program for this program: an AfterWords to our Believers and Nonbelievers episode on “The Differences Between Cult and Religion.” The first link was the orignal discussion, which I was unable to participate in. The second link is my interview. Here are the two links: https://youtu.be/mY_F1RhtQBw https://youtu.be/W5zVOat-CZ0
» continue readingJonestown Survivor Activities from February to April, 2018 Saturday, 2/10 - Interview in the Epilogue of a cult discussion about Believers/Non-believers for a YouTube broadcast. Monday, 2/12 - University of Puget Sound in Tacoma Washington - Classes all day long, and then a Public/campus presentation: 5 pm McIntyre Hall 101. Wednesday, 2/14 and Monday, 2/19 7-8:30 p.m., Palomar College, Dr. Fredi Avalos’ Class on “Power, Discourse and Social Identity” March - a return trip to Guyana. Wednesdays, 3/14, 3/21, and 3/28 - CSU-San Bernadino in Palm Desert, Osher class. 1-4 Thursday, 3/29, San Diego State Osher Class, SDSU Love Library 1-2:50 Thursday, 4/5, Arkansas Technical University, Russelville, Arkansas, Classes during ...
» continue readingJonestown Survivor to Speak on Cult Leadership Styles, at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at SDSU, March 29 BY SUZANA NORBERG – JANUARY 24, 2018POSTED IN: EDITORS PICK, SDSU'S OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE How do you distinguish quirkiness from insanity in a leader? What are the red flags to watch for? What are our expectations of a leader? A fluke-survivor of the Peoples Temple and decade-long resident of Synanon — an alternative community in Santa Monica, Calif. that disbanded in 1991 — will share her analysis of both cults, as part of the Love Library Series through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at SDSU. Laura Johnston Kohl will ...
» continue readingJonestown Survivor Visit to U of Puget Sound on Monday, February 12, 2018: 9:15 meet host, Dr. Jeff Matthews at U of Puget Sound 10:00 first-year seminar (students will have just finished Jonestown paper) 11:00 first-year seminar (same as above) 12-2pm lunch/break 2:00 pm senior research class (wide-ranging discussion including research and writing process) 3-5 pm break 5:00-6pm campus presentation 6:30 pm dinner
» continue readingJonestown Survivor Fall 2017 to Spring 2018 Activities - Update September 12 Skype Interview with Polish Journalist Piotr Wloczyk of Historia Do Rzeczy, the largest Polish history magazine October 3 (Tuesday) University of Cincinnati 9:30-11 2 classes - Conformity and Obedience Psychology Class, Speybroeck’s class, and a Stats/Research Methods Class, my host Dr. Brian Metcalf’s class. 2-3:20 Psychology Class on Cognition and Learning, Room: McMicken 127, in Valerie Hardcastle’s room 6-7:30 Presentation Understanding Jonestown and Peoples Temple, “Lindner Center 450,” 2751 O’Varsity Way, Cincinnati, OH October 6 Presentations at Communal Studies Association at the Zoar Community October 19, October 26, November 2, November 9 and November 16, ...
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