Peoples Temple Discussion Forum

joeyjosef · Site Admin Joined: 24 Nov 2007 Posts: 538 Location: Oregon

Rikke asks:
"How was it decided who was going to Jonestown? Did people apply? Were they asked/invited? Told? Selected because of special skills? And were some people refused?"

and

"What were your initial thoughts/expectations on going and how did that match your first (and second) impression of the town? "

Laura answers:
"Jim decided on each person going to Guyana – almost all were going to Jonestown because most of the work was going on there. People going into Georgetown were specifically picked because of skills, etc. I know Jim got a lot of feedback from his secretaries in the inner group. Other people – Leonia Collier in San Francisco, and others in LA would also make recommendations about who should go. People who did NOT go were those with prestigious jobs in the US – people who were politically important to Jim’s efforts here. Also, some people were working on money-making operations like large care homes, or were packing up supplies to be sent, or printing newspapers, etc. Those with valuable jobs in the US were put at the bottom of the list. At first, really hard workers were sent – and people who were self-disciplined and skilled or adaptable. Then, when there was more structure in Jonestown, the whole movement was much looser and faster. There were about 75 people there in the spring of 1977 and 1000 there by November 1978. People might have asked to go – but Jim was a micro-manager –and undoubtedly had to approve anyone coming down. People were told they were going. Some people didn’t go because of pressing problems in the US – so parts of families went, thinking others would soon follow. Some did soon follow, some didn’t. Many even arrived that last week, into both Jonestown or into Georgetown.

I had seen Jonestown in December of 1975. We had seen pictures a lot. I was delighted to go. I thought I’d never come back to live in the US and I was happy about that, too. I knew we were building a new community in the rainforest and I pretty much knew what to expect. Many people came down thinking the community was further along in its development. We were still years away from being self –sufficient in November 1978, and the lifestyle was rough. Most of the people who got to Jonestown loved the country and were excited about building up the community. It was very hard work. We worked 7 days a week and had evening activities most evenings. At the end of the summer of 1978, we started having Sunday afternoons off – so it was hard. Jim always quoted the Bible – “to each according to his ability…” – so if you needed a slower life you could have that. Many were bursting with energy and went down knowing we faced a lot of work! I loved watching it grow. There was huge growth and development going on – it was easy to see the results of our efforts.

joeyjosef · Site Admin Joined: 24 Nov 2007 Posts: 538 Location: Oregon

Answering the same question,

Mike Touchette answers:

"#1 I was asked to go.
I can [sic..."can't"] speak on how the decisions were made of who went and when they left. I was not there, I was in the FIRST group of 6 that went to Guyana in March 1974.

#2 I had no real thoughts or expectations. I knew I was going over to build the town. When I got there Jonestown DID NOT exist. We had to build it"

joeyjosef · Site Admin Joined: 24 Nov 2007 Posts: 538 Location: Oregon

Rikke asks:

#1 "How was it decided who was going to Jonestown (Joe talking....OR GEORGETOWN) ? Did people apply? Were they asked/invited? Told? Selected because of special skills? And were some people refused? "

Mike Carter responds:
"No people were told where they were going and what they were doing. Skills played a part in what tasks were assigned to people. There was also a 'trust' factor which I believe played into who was asked to performcertain tasks. That said, everyone was manipulated into not trusting others. "

Rikke asks:
#2: "What were your initial thoughts/expectations on going and how did that match your first (and second) impression of the town? "

Mike Carter responds:

"I was excited about going because I wanted to see my child for the first time and to see my wife for the first time in month. First impression was how increadilby beutiful the rain forest is. I was also impressed with how much jungle had been cleared and how much was built. On the negative side, I was really surpised how many people were living in each cottage which were already pretty small."

Regards,

Mike