I liked Sydlik. While he came across as powerful with that booming voice, he had a hearty laugh and seemed to truly care about all of us. He had a way of making bethel really seem like a family. I remember several of his talks and comments where he expressed genuine appreciation for both the new members and the elderly in the family.
Many of us met him when we were still "new boys", and instantly liked him. It's been a while, so I can't recall and won't include the exact details of one situation I encountered. Since Morning Worship attendance was required, and you MUST be on time, it meant you had to get there early. And Dan was visiting my location and was quite early. Of course, the coffee was already brewed and waiting, long before morning worship. But it was forbidden to partake... except for Dan. Most of us already knew this custom, but when Dan poured his coffee, one of the new waiters said, "You're not supposed to have coffee before Morning Worship." Dan replied, "Who ya gonna tell?" Some time later, the stupid rule was officially dropped.
There were lots of other Dan stories like that. He seemed to like order and progress, but he didn't seem to care much for all the rules. And he really seemed to like people. We were really sad when his health problems came along and seemed to age him 20 years in the span of about 9 months or so.
Swingle was a character. I didn't know him as well, but heard interesting stories from others. Barber was really a character. A young bethelite asked Barber for advice about how to decide if the sister he liked was the right one... Carey told him, "well, take her to the beach and see what you've got!" Barry could be funny, too.
The one I completely disliked was Jaracz. I didn't like his wife either. GB 2.0 is "organization men" crafted mostly in his image.
