The worst thing, someone could call you at bethel, was a "Jack." As in "that guy is a real Jack, he doesn't work at all". The other term not used very much anymore, was "Pot Licker" used basically the same way. There has been some bad things done at bethel. You name it, someone has done it. But the absolute worst possible thing, a bethelite could do is be a THEFT and rob from a fellow bethelite! Hey, people having sex with each other it happens every day, thats normal. But stealing from some poor bethelite making .73 cents a day. That should be a STONING offence. We had three of them, in the 4 years I was there. They would wait until we got paid (we got paid in cash) and go into your locker when you were working and ripe you off. It never happen to me but I had friends who had to borrow money to buy subway tokens because of this "brother."
One of these guys was one of the most self-righteous assholes you ever saw. He would walk around the factory with an "Aid to bible understand book" under his arm. He gave a text comment one time and said "I have walked the floors of the 124 at night and I have heard Rock n Roll music coming out of the brothers rooms." This guy was trying to out righteous even the GB. Sure enough 6 months later it was announced at breakfast "Brother LeRoy Righteous has DFed for stealing" Isn't that always the way it is, it’s always the more righteous ones you need to watch. Just like in the KHs.
When some guy got kicked out of Bethel, Knorr would "Have him/her for breakfast." Meaning a half hour to 45 min. lecture on whatever their sins were. Sometimes he would go into a rant and you would think he have a heart attack, he would get so worked up. It was getting so bad that once or twice a week this would happen, it was a real downer. It was very discouraging and it would have been nice to have had a hot meal sometimes. It was only him, leading the morning worship for the past 30 years.
So guess what? In 1973, when Knorr took one of his many trips to the south pacific islands. He and his bride always went in the winter time, for some odd reason. So while he was gone, the GB voted him off the text table! Boy was he pissed when he got back! The next week at the Gilead graduation he said "We are starting a new arrangement for the text comments the GB will now rotate, so that all members of the GB, will have a turn at leading the text comments (And I quote). "I DECIDED TO LET THEM HAVE IT!".......nice of him. Power is a tough thing to give up. The days of one guy call all the shots were coming to and end.
Old Bethel Story.
Phone rings in 5th floor bindery, new boy picks it up and says "This is Jack's mule barn......which Jack ASS do you want?" On the other end of the phone. "DO YOU KNOW WHO THIS IS?" new boy "NO"...................other end "THIS IS MAX LARSON FACTORY OVERSEER!" New boy says. "Well, do you know this is?" Max Larson says "NO" new boy says "GOOD" and hangs up. True Story.
I learned about fear of man at bethel I never had it before.
My roommate Steve H. move out of the room. I guess I wasn't friendly enough .I guess he found a roommate who was more NPG friendly. I got to keep the room, that’s how it works there. I got a new roommate in T-211 towers my old buddy Jack Sutton, one of the X Laundry guys. He was from Phoenix AZ and I was from California. So we decided decorate our room in a western motif. We had some old western posters on the wall. One of the posters was of a bull fighter. The house keepers loved our room and had many of their coffee breaks there.
Anyway one night about 8:00 p.m. we get this knock on the door. It’s is Curtis Johnson (newly appointed) home servant to the Towers. This Guy looked and talks just like the Nazis guy in the movie "Raiders of the lost Ark." the one with thick glasses and smiling all the time. He was Bald headed 5 ft. 2” a real tweeb, We said "come on in" he said "NO thanks...........brothers, I'm here to talk about your room decorations"......."OK what about them?"......."We don't like them." "Who is we?" "Well the bethel office." "really?"..............."REALLY" he said........."Like, look at that Bull fighting poster on the wall, of yours...............a tour might think we like killing animals."....."Brother Johnson, NO tours come through the towers Hotel and we never looked at that poster that anyway." "Never mind about that, we want it down".........."Alright".....we said " We ‘ll take it down"
We never said when we would take it down. So when we moved out a year later we took it down.
Yes, the sisters cleaning your room had instructions to search for anything that was wasn’t appropriate. You know rock in roll records, posters, books and magazines and report them to the home servant.
I'm afraid we haven't seen the last of our dear "brother" Johnson.