The Road to Jonestown
Page 57
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NOTES
FBI files regarding the tragic events at Jonestown and Port Kaituma and the history of Peoples Temple begin with the designation RYMUR (for Ryan Murder) followed by the numerals 89-4286. Additional identification numbers and letters for each document, and sometimes for each page of each document, follow. These were recorded by hand. Legibility varies greatly—at least dozens and probably hundreds of different individuals made these notations.
Additionally, many of the files supplied by the FBI in response to Freedom of Information Act requests were faded with age, marred by wide, erratic mark-outs redacting some material, or otherwise damaged to the point where some of their identifying codes could not be read or else were missing in part or altogether. Every RYMUR file cited includes as much of its identification code as possible. I hope this doesn’t frustrate readers too much; it certainly frustrated me and my researchers.
One former Peoples Temple member would agree to be interviewed only if his/her identity was protected. Because this individual had crucial information to offer, I agreed.
PROLOGUE
Most of the material comes from interviews with Desmond Roberts, Gerald Gouveia (the army pilot who flew the first rescue plane into Port Kaituma on the morning of November 19, 1978), and Kit Nascimento, then serving as a minister under Prime Minister Forbes Burnham. Details of Burnham’s November 18 evening meeting with U.S. ambassador John Burke were found in a telex report sent by the ambassador to the State Department in Washington, D.C., immediately afterward. The report was declassified by the U.S. government in 2014.
The Cessna airplane at Port Kaituma has been variously described as seating five or six. On the afternoon of November 18, it didn’t matter—only three people were onboard during its flight from Port Kaituma to Georgetown. According to Tim Reiterman in Raven, the third person was Jonestown defector Monica Bagby, who was wounded in the attack at the Port Kaituma airstrip. (Tim Reiterman, Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and His People [New York: Tarcher Perigee, 2008; originally published by Dutton Adult, 1982], p. 535).
ONE: LYNETTA AND JIM
In most cases it’s impossible to be certain what someone was feeling—frustration, jealousy, resentment. But Lynetta often wrote and spoke about her childhood and life in Crete and Lynn. She exaggerated her accomplishments and very much enjoyed describing tribulation at the hands of supposed enemies, but in describing her own day-to-day emotions she could be and usually was quite explicit.
Copies of records regarding James Thurman Jones’s breakdown and subsequent hospitalization were provided to me by Indiana historian Joyce Overman Bowman. She found these records through the Ohio Historical Society, recently renamed the Ohio History Connection.
In several instances, information from FBI RYMUR investigation files has been transcribed by Fielding McGehee III and posted on the Jonestown Institute’s “Alternative Considerations of Jonestown & Peoples Temple” website, http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/. It will be easier for most readers to refer to the Jonestown Institute site than to request files from the FBI through the Freedom of Information Act, so in these cases I’ll cite the Jonestown Institute source.
Lynetta described her childhood self: “Lynetta Jones Interviews 1 & 2,” Jonestown Institute.
Lynetta was sustained in these hard times: Rebecca Moore, Anthony B. Pinn, Mary R. Sawyer, eds., Peoples Temple and Black Religion in America (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2004), pp. 123–24.
Typically, Lynetta later bragged: “Lynetta Jones Interviews 1 & 2,” Jonestown Institute.
Lynetta was treated, probably for tuberculosis: Joyce Overman Bowman interview.
Sometime in 1926, Lynetta believed that she’d found him: In her Jonestown reminiscences, Lynetta claimed she’d “known [Jim] for a long time,” and that she called off engagements to him “about eight times” before they finally married. Given her two marriages in the preceding six years, it seems more likely they married soon after meeting. (“Lynetta Jones Interviews 1 & 2,” Jonestown Institute.)
John Henry Jones was prominent: Jeanne Jones Luther interview.
Their father expected them: Ibid.
As a disabled veteran: On July 12, 1973, a fire destroyed much of the military’s National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis where most World War I military records were stored. These records were not kept in duplicate and were not copied on microfilm. An estimated 80 percent were lost in the fire, apparently including the files on James Thurman Jones. This makes it impossible to learn details of where and when he was caught in a German gas attack, the treatment he received immediately after that, and the specific amount of the disability pension he was awarded. The $30 suggested here is an estimate based on information provided by the army.
There were corn and soybeans to plant and tend: Roberta Horne interview.
Four times a day, trains passed through: Ibid.
this made Crete not a village but a “stop place”: Monesa Wisener interview.
They called it “living smart”: Linda Black interview.
Lynetta, who defied local custom for women by smoking in public: Larry McKissick interview.
“much more lucrative ways”: RYMUR 89-4286-FF-1-71 and 72.
She would have been glad to escape: Ibid.
most of her in-laws admired her spunk: Jeanne Jones Luther interview.
she would weave a tale of becoming ill: RYMUR 89-4286-EE-1-L-100.
Jim snapped from the stress: Joyce Overman Bowman interview.
In her tale, she refused to leave: RYMUR 89-4286-FF-1-72.
His father and brothers would assume: Jeanne Jones Luther interview.
But once the child started school: Ibid.
TWO: LYNN
Lynn existed to serve the needs: Bob Hayes, Joyce Overman Bowman, and Bill Townshend interviews.
There was a comforting sense of shared schedules: Roberta Horne and Bill Cox interviews.
There were no rivalries between preachers: Bill Townshend and Richard Grubbs interviews.
Men in Lynn had social clubs: Bill Townshend interview.
The power base of the Klan had drifted north: James H. Madison, A Lynching in the Heartland: Race and Memory in America (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2001), pp. 38–39; Leonard J. Moore, Citizen Klansmen: The Ku Klux Klan in Indiana, 1921–1928 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1997), pp. 17, 27, 58, 81; James H. Madison, Gregory Hinshaw, and Kay Straley interviews.
Lynn’s public school stood out: Gregory Hinshaw, Monesa Wisener, Jeanne Jones Luther, Bill Cox, and Richard Grubbs interviews.
The Depression brought about one major change: Bill Townshend interview.
Some part-time work was found for him: Bob Hayes interview.
The Grant Street house was minimally furnished: Bill Townshend interview.
It was particularly galling: Jeanne Jones Luther interview.
Jim’s health continued to fail: Jeanne Jones Luther and Joyce Overman Bowman interviews.
his respiratory problems weren’t helped: Bill Cox and Bill Manning interviews.
Town children liked Jim: Bob Hayes interview.
Up close, his appearance was startling: Chuck Willmore interview.
she made a spectacle of herself by smoking: Linda Black and Monesa Wisener interviews.
But there was one thing about Jim and Lynetta Jones: Bill Townshend, James H. Madison, and Jeanne Jones Luther interviews.
“[My husband’s family felt]”: RYMUR 89-4286-FF-7-e-1 and 2.
Old Jim mostly filled his time: Roberta Horne, Rachel Shee
ley, Chuck Willmore, and Bill Manning interviews.
THREE: JIMMY
One weekend morning, twelve-year-old Max Knight: Max Knight interview.
There was nothing unusual about this: Joyce Overman Bowman interview.
Jimmy still had plenty of adults: Jeanne Jones Luther interview.
Lynetta had a rule: Chuck Willmore interview.
The little waif’s plight seemed obvious: Joyce Overman Bowman interview.
Myrtle was a scarecrow of a woman: Bill Manning interview.
Over the next few years, he joined them all: Bill Townshend interview.
Jimmy somehow managed to retain: Bill Manning interview.
Jim Jones sat down and scribbled a note to Myrtle Kennedy: Ibid.
In September 1977, Jim Jones would claim: RYMUR 89-4286-O-1-B-1.
by Jones’s own later admission: RYMUR 89-4286-O-1-B-7.
Once he knocked on the door: Max Knight interview.
FOUR: GROWING UP
This was typical throughout Indiana: James H. Madison, The Indiana Way (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2000), pg. xiii; James H. Madison interview.
He ran the streets like everybody else: Jeanne Jones Luther interview.
Jimmy sneaked them into the house: Chuck Willmore interview.
The only time anyone ever saw them interacting: Ibid.
candy bars, rare and prized treats: Bob Hayes and Jeanne Luther Jones interviews.
One day he and the Willmore brothers: Chuck Willmore interview.
Jimmy led a contingent of kids: Jeanne Jones Luther interview.
Instead of flying, he hit the ground hard: Chuck Willmore interview.
Around the same time: Bill Townshend, Bill Cox, Bob Hayes, and Jeanne Jones Luther interviews.
he was fascinated with the Nazis: Jeanne Jones Luther interview. As an adult, Jones claimed he most admired the Russians during World War II, and that admiration in part led to his belief in socialism. But his cousin Jeanne remembers him whipping her across the calves when she didn’t goose-step properly.
Jimmy and Lester became summer pals: Lester Wise interview.
He offered explicit facts-of-life lectures: John Mutchner interview.
there was a new rumor: Kay Straley, Max Knight, and Chuck Willmore interviews.
It was better for Old Jim to be thought of: Linda Black interview.
Jimmy started dressing differently: Bill Manning, Joyce Overman Bowman, and Richard Grubbs interviews.
Jimmy developed the odd habit: Monesa Wisener interview.
he was not considered an exceptional student: Bill Townshend and Bob Hayes interviews.
fourteen-year-old Jimmy Jones not only formed: John Mutchner and Bill Cox interviews.
she took another Lynn man as her lover: Jeanne Jones Luther interview. I asked several other older Lynn residents about Lynetta’s affair. Two reluctantly admitted that they might have heard about it, but would not share specifics or allow themselves to be quoted. Even Jeanne Luther told me, “I know the man’s name but I’m not going to tell it to you, because I think he still has family around here and I don’t want to hurt them.” In Raven, Tim Reiterman identifies Lynetta’s lover as Shorty Beverly.
One day Jimmy attached himself to Sara Lou: Richard Grubbs interview. I would have very much liked to ask Sara Lou herself about Jim Jones, but she long ago died in childbirth.
a new faith came to Lynn: Joyce Overman Bowman, Bill Townshend, Linda Black, Roberta Horne, and Bob Hayes interviews.
She later described a dramatic scene: RYMUR 89-4286-BB-1B-Z-12.
there were three black enclaves: Monesa Wisener and Gregory Hinshaw interviews.
Jimmy would find someplace to stand: Rachel Sheeley interview. While many people in Lynn are willing to talk openly and in great detail about Jim Jones, there’s considerable reluctance to acknowledge him among those who knew (or, at least, knew of) Jones in Richmond. A few older Richmond residents cautiously acknowledged that, as children, they heard something about teenage Jim preaching to indigent African Americans, but no one would say much more.
He took to ostentatiously carrying a Bible: Bill Cox interview.
Jimmy was asked to conduct a mock funeral: Phyllis Willmore Zimmerman interview.
FIVE: RICHMOND
when he moved away: Lynetta’s boyfriend supposedly moved to Richmond before she and Jimmy did, so it’s possible, even likely, that in the summer of 1948 she chose to follow him there in an attempt to keep the relationship going. If that was her intention, she apparently failed. Reiterman, Raven, p. 26.
Recently, he’d started hinting: Max Knight interview.
Lynn had a hotel: Joyce Overman Bowman interview.
His enduring love for Lynetta: James T. Jones’s grave can be visited in Mount Zion Cemetery just outside Winchester in Randolph County. Although both of their names are on the headstone, Lynetta is not buried there with him.
One girl was greatly offended: Janice L. Beach interview.
But Jimmy made a few friends: Richard Stadelmann interview.
Though she would later claim to be a senior employee: Space does not permit listing and contradicting every one of Lynetta’s exaggerated claims about her life. After this, I will only mention the most critical ones.
Reid management noticed: Max Knight’s late wife was a Reid Hospital supervisor, and gave Max glowing reports about his young friend’s fine performance as an orderly there.
discussed it with a former girlfriend: Phyllis Willmore Zimmerman interview.
SIX: MARCELINE
For general information about the history of Richmond, readers are referred to Richmond: A Pictorial History by Gertrude Luckhardt Ward (St. Louis: G. Bradley Publishing, 1994). It’s a nice town with friendly people. Unlike in Lynn, however, very few residents acknowledge Jim Jones ever lived there. They consider him a blight on their town.
Walter was a fine Christian man: Janet L. Jackson interview.
neighbors remember its front yard: Ruth Townshend interview.
and believed that the Lord sometimes sent her messages: Bill Jackson interview. Bill, who married Charlotte’s granddaughter Janet, eventually gave up a successful career in banking to embark on his own ministry. Charlotte Baldwin told him that she dreamed he would do this.
One of Charlotte’s edicts: Janet L. Jackson interview.
Marceline once shocked them: RYMUR 89-4286-FF-1-95-c.
She had a sweet singing voice: Janice L. Beach interview.
Marceline’s faith was never negative: Avelyn Chilcoate interview.
Marceline showed little interest: Janice L. Beach and Avelyn Chilcoate interviews.
Even as a little girl: Avelyn Chilcoate interview.
“[Marceline] wanted a bigger adventure”: Ibid.
“She said she’d met a boy”: Ibid.
SEVEN: JIM AND MARCELINE
Much of the information comes from a lengthy interview with Ronnie Baldwin, the cousin of Marceline Jones who as a boy lived with her and Jim in Indianapolis for fifteen months.
Richmond Arquette, a member of the famous show business family, is developing a documentary film focusing mostly on surviving former members of Peoples Temple. After we learned how to contact Ronnie from sources in Indiana, Richmond and I agreed it might be intimidating for him to talk at the same time to people pursuing complementary but separate projects. Accordingly, I provided Richmond with a set of questions and he interviewed Ronnie. Afterward, with Ronnie’s consent, Richmond shared the interview transcript with me.
One night in late 1948: RYMUR 89-4286-BB-1B-Z-63.
“Marceline was always very smart”: Janice L. Beach interview.
He’d once been a highly touted basketball star: RYMUR 89-4286-BB-1B-Z-63.
Astonished to discover that he expected them: Reiterman, Raven, p. 33.
His first semester grades: California Historical Society, MS 4126, Box 3, Folder 12.
As he recalled it: RYMUR 89-4286-O-I-B-4.
Marcel
ine’s version was less vulgar: RYMUR 89-4286-FF-1-95b.
Another time, Jim and Marceline argued: RYMUR 89-4286-O-I-B-4.
“He took an awful lot of the starch out of me”: RYMUR 89-4286-FF-I-95a.
Avelyn thought Charlotte’s advice was selfish: Avelyn Chilcoate interview.
Years later when Marceline’s youngest sister, Sharon, divorced: Janet L. Jackson interview.
Another of Marceline’s relations also appealed to Jim: Ronnie Baldwin interview.
Jim began attending these meetings: Ibid.
The faith’s governing body adopted a new, formal social creed: Rebecca Moore, Understanding Jonestown and Peoples Temple (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2009), p. 12.
Methodist leaders had always encouraged social activism: Scott Seay interview.
he took Marceline and Ronnie to black churches: Ronnie Baldwin interview.
In the summer of 1952: Moore, Understanding Jonestown and Peoples Temple, p. 12; Reiterman, Raven, p. 41.
EIGHT: BEGINNINGS
Reporter William B. Treml gushed: “Mom’s Help for Ragged Tramp Leads Son to Dedicate His Life to Others,” Richmond Palladium-Item, March 15, 1953.
Ronnie Baldwin had lived: Ronnie Baldwin interview.
He recalled thinking: RYMUR 89-4286-O-1-B-8. All of Jones’s reminiscences included in Chapter 8 are drawn from this document and RYMUR 89-4286-O-1-B-9.
So was Marceline, who said: RYMUR 89-4286-BB-18-Z-64.
A quarter century later: RYMUR 89-4286-1304-67c.
NINE: A CHURCH WHERE YOU GET SOMETHING NOW
Much of the information in this chapter comes from my interview with Ron Haldeman, who now lives in a retirement home in Indianapolis.
Jones exclaimed at the coincidence: Right up to the time of our interview, Ron Haldeman believed what Jim Jones told him about being a devout Quaker for his entire life. It says a lot about Jim Jones’s personal charm that when I told Haldeman this wasn’t true, he laughed and said, “Well, I guess I’m not surprised. That’s like him, to let me think what I wanted, help me get the wrong idea, to make me want to help him. Jimmy, well, that was him. He sure convinced me.”
Eventually, blacks comprised more than 10 percent: Richard B. Pierce, Polite Protest: The Political Economy of Race in Indianapolis, 1920–1970 (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2005), p. 11.