Do any former Bethelites remember someone named Rob Carlson (I think his name was spelled like that)? I believe he lived in Wisconsin for some time and was at Bethel during the 80's during the shake-up. He died several years ago, but I was wondering if anyone knew him.
Warren Schroeder from Bethel on Freddy, Kline and the apostate books!
by Dogpatch 501 Replies latest jw friends
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tijkmo
On Easter Sundays, and other religious holidays, we would trek on down to St Peter's Basillica and play gospel numbers as the folks filed in to pay their respects to Jesus.
rofl
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Tom Cabeen
JW,
Given the time frame you mention, you are doubtless correct. The 119 Columbia Heights Bldg wasn't built until the mid-1970s. I never visited them in that Brownstone apartment. I don't know how it was that they got from there to the 119 Bldg, but I'm sure there is a story there somewhere, although Ed was hightly respected right up until the spring of 1980, when Bethel had its own version of 9/11. Things were never the same at HQ after that.
In fact, I didn't get to know Ed & Betty very well until the late 1970s. We became much closer after we all left. They came out here to Connecticut to visit us in the 1980s, and Ed actually rebaptized me and several others as Christians in the backyard of an XJW couple. We were involved with a little support group at the time, and several of us decided to get rebaptized.
Tom -
Tom Cabeen
CM,
I knew Rob. Sorry to hear he passed away. He was a very nice guy, I always thought.
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wschroeder
Tom,
I invited my brother to jump in here while all the fun stuff is going on. You will want to contact him personally to find CS. It seems that you and he reached the same point in your spiritual journies. Interesting.....
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BabaYaga
Bookmarking a great thread, thank you!
(To your good health, Warren.) -
TMS
Randy mentioned this: "Anyone else have an old-timer friend who was cueing in on '74? Not uncommon. Dating nonsense."
Didn't the original Aid to Bible Understanding, A-F mention 1974 in its article titled "Chronology"? I remember seeing this and wondering if things had changed since the c.1966 Life Everlasting In Freedom with the Sons of God" and its focus on 1975. Some of us read the "Aid" book cover to cover. Lol!
tms
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Dogpatch
TMS
if i remember it was made freddy who advocated 1974 based on the 2520 yr count somehow. But then again Freddy liked to do the tossed salad. What a character.
Fred Franz (called Freddy by old timers at Bethel, not disrespectfully) was quite an enigma. I think a lot of us admired him, as he was a purist of sorts. He shunned normal social affairs, yet was very sociable. And he would break out and step into the worlds of others at times. They were impressed.
I never did the shower thing, with Freddy or anyone. Never had time for "luxuries" assuming I would want to do such a tacky thing anyway. :-))
But Freddy disdained the other members, the newer members of the GB at the time. Bethel men were always hung up on position, and keeping the new boys in their place. Freddy was, surprisingly, warm and quite friendly to the average joes. Sure, if he didn't bore you to death with his monotones and story illustrations, that were actually at times comical in their own right (he could be very funny in a dry sort of way-LOL), he would show his humanity and vulnerability SPADES more than some other members of the GB. He WAS a real person. I think he is the only one I ever respected then that I still respect now, God save the old fart.
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watson
When Frederick Franz spoke, people listened. Even as a kid, I would doze through 4 to 6 days of the convention, and perk right up when "Freddie" stepped up to the platform. Something in those Franz genes, I guess.
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Dogpatch
So I almost forgot my FREDDY story. Cabeen probably might have seen this, but maybe not, depending on how well developed his BA was at the time. :-)) Cab, at least you had Gloria to keep you grounded.
Sydlik decided to give the Bethel boys a new dress code, this was 1979? and they were all in the dining room, might have been lunch, don't remember, but big crowd. He says it is proper that we COME TO THE TABLE dressed like we were going to be in company (i.e., dressed UP ).
Now this went over like a lead balloon, not the least with Freddy himself. Normally fairly respectable looking at the breakfast table, the MEAL you did not miss (because it was DISCIPLINE time, BOYS!) , Freddy came down and sat at the table head all 5 mornings that week wearing a T-SHIRT (no other shirt or jacket) saying, "Where in the Hell is McCook, Nebraska?"
ONLY Freddy could do that, no one else. That was cool. 10 points.
Now, obviously this was intended to do three things.
1. amuse himself, goal #1
2. give a subtle message! to the REST of the GB (look, fools, you know I don't play this game of yours)
3. Renew loyalties with his boys, who were disappointed in his lack of quirky adventures of late, especially the somberr, seemingly out-of-character rants, along with Knorr, against the Governing Body arrangement. Politics. Even for purists.
I can't recall how it all worked out, as about that time I quit eating. :-))
Randy
