Fekel; I sat next to him at Bethel (meals) and had many conversations with him. The table assignment lasted for 10 months and in that time I got to know him. My opinion of him was that he was a very caring and loving person. Some of the things of interest that I remmember him telling me: He came to Bethel around 1917 after he brokeup with a girl friend out on Long Island. He owned a Stanley Steamer and would drive out there to see her. One of the most intriguing items was the time I came upon him at the breakfest table one morning and he was having a very heated argument with Knorr (they did not see me take my seat at the table). From what I could gather they were discussing a GB matter about taking down the presidents power as it existed in 1973. This "heated discussion" was very unlike Fekel as he was a very mild man. He and I would go shoping on Wed. night along Atlantic Av. a number of times and have long discussions. The one thing of ironry that came out of all of our discussions was the thought of not fearing any man and this thought is what gave me the strength to leave the cult. When he died around 1987 I was out of the borg, I still cried like a baby. I will always have fond thoughts of him and great respect.
Andersinfo: Swingle - Sydlik - Fekel - Jackson
by TheOldHippie 40 Replies latest jw experiences
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TheOldHippie
Thank you for the Fekel story; he is sort of a "shadow". He was born in Austria/Hungary 7 March 1897, baptised 1916, full time service 1917. And then it took him till 28 November 1974 to join the GB (same date as Booth, Berry, Klein, Schroeder, Sydlik, Jaracz), but he died as early as 24 April 1977 (not 1987). Nice to hear you tell about him!
You know, what sort of amazes me is that when Rutherford died and the Knorr era began, then: Knorr as president was 37 years, Covington as vice-president 31 (!), and Suiter 34, Swingle 32, Henschel 22 (!), (although Suiter, Swingle, Henschel were not wppointed till 3-4 years later, but still ...), so the leadership was then men in their 20s and 30s. It must have been a very different world, system, attitude than later, when these men were still the leadership, although they were then in their 70s and 80s. It was a very radical change in leadership. The old men like Woodworth, Riemer, McMillan and Sullivan were still there, but power shiftet to a brand new generation. I wonder why Franz was not made president, IF it is true that he in fact wrote some of the Rutherford-era books.
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yammer-hammer
I wonder why Franz was not made president, IF it is true that he in fact wrote some of the Rutherford-era books.
It seems like he was president after Knorr died (?), but by that time, the GB had staged their coup (as a result of the "tail wagging the dog" talk by Freddy hiz-self) but it was no longer considered to be the "highest" position... similar to when the "elder's arrangement" was put into effect. The Presiding Overseer was not considered to be the "boss" of the congregation any more, just another elder.
I think he also lost a lot of respect from the GB after they gave their half-hearted apology about 1975. I have nothing to base that on, JMO.
By the way, "onceawitness" is the same as "yammer-hammer." There is also an account I created 3 years ago named "yammerhammer" without the hyphen. I couldn't use that account for some reason... maybe because I haven't posted here for so long. My apologies to the mods... it would be great if you could delete the "onceawitness" and "yammerhammer" accounts. They just confuse me.
David.
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yammer-hammer
Here's the letter from my uncle. I have removed a couple of paragraphs to protect the innocent. I can only say that it reveals an aspect of how judgmental he could be about things that he knew nothing about... like raising children and dealing with teenagers. It was very hurtful at the time for me to read the comments that I have deleted, after I showed this letter to my mother, who was dead set against my going to Bethel, she said that Lyman simply didn't have a clue about some things, especially children.
I did break up with this girl later, but not for the reasons that he mentioned in this letter. We later got together again, and we were engaged for a while, but it simply did not work out.
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Mickey mouse
Thanks David and welcome.
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minimus
He sounds like a caring uncle. Too bad the WT. still spouts the same views in the 21st century! He sounds like he really believed the end BS.
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TheOldHippie
I know Franz was appointed president later, but I was referring to the 1940s, when there obviously must have been youth and vigour.
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yammer-hammer
Ah, sorry OldHippie. I misunderstood. Yeah, that's an interesting question. I'm only venturing a guess here, but Knorr was a very good businessman, and I think the business of the Borg probably came before all else. Franz was no doubt a brilliant man, but maybe he was considered more the Reasearch and Development engineer. Knorr was probably considered a better marketing man.
It cracks me up how many terms the Society had/has that come from the business world... convention "delegates," I think they used to call the congregations the "company," "field service," and I imagine you may have been around when everyone's monthly activity was posted on a big chart for everyone to see. They had "quotas," and the chart was more like a scorecard from a sales department.
David.
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daniel-p
Yammer, thanks a lot fo rposting your memories and the letter. Great stuff. I especially thought this part was interesting:
"He sometimes invited me into a room where it was just the two of us, and although I was ready to pee my pants when he did that, he never once asked me about it, just wanted to make small talk with me. He knew I was studying computer science at the U. of Utah, where my grandfather had been a professor of pharmacology for several years (1914-1925 I believe) and he wanted to hear about what I was learning. He shared some stories about the programmers who wrote the MEPS system at Bethel, and confessed it was all a great mystery to him."
Do you think this was his way of saying he still accepted you? Or do you think it was a way to "encourage" you to come back to the organization?
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yammer-hammer
Daniel-p, I have wondered about that myself. Maybe a little of both. I had some real problems with clinical depression and some in my family attributed my loss of faith to that. I am sure he knew about some of my episodes and so maybe he just wanted to be reassuring and kind. In spite of his sometimes grumpy exterior, he was genuinely compassionate towards people.
He usually came to Salt Lake City for the District Convention that's always held in Ogden about 50 miles to the north. I did not go the last time he came; he had lost his wife a few months before and he was so old and frail that he had to sit to give his talk. He lost his place in his notes... he sat confused for a minute and then broke down and cried... in front of about 6,000 people. But he pulled himself together and got through the talk.
This pic is from about 1970-1980.
David.
