Jump to content
GreaseSpot Cafe

Did VPW and his brother have public arguments?


fooledagainII
 Share

Recommended Posts

I often heard that VPW and his brother would argue publicly. What was these arguments about? Did people that were around feel uncomfortable? Did anyone dare to get involve?

Side note: As many of you were (especially corp), I was reproofed lot times both privately but mostly publicly. I wonder do anyone remember any of the BOD/or Top Leadership (past and present) being reproved publicly?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't know about VP and his brother. I do know VP and his son, Don, had periods of time where they didn't get along and weren't very good at hiding it. My year at Emporia, one of the first meetings I ever attended, Don Wierwille slammed his dad. I wish I could remember the details but it was something about policy and ended with the comment, "He's not infallible, you know." That might not seem like much but Don was a slow-spoken man of thoughtful words and it made a marked impact on me. I'm thinking it might have been about the "way corps is a calling" issue because I heard a lot of grumblings and opinions back and forth all year about that. It's just, as the newbie I was at the time, to hear the MOG's son pretty much call him a liar, intentionally, in front of an audience, I remember thinking, "all is not as it seems in wayland!"

Of course, somehow that early meeting was forgotten by the end of the year when I was making plans to go into the way corps...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was never around either of them very much at all. I do recall one time, however, when I heard them simultaneously giving conflicting advise to a believer who asked about joining the Armed Forces. VP told the kid he should devote his efforts to the ministry, instead, by going WOW. He was quite emphatic in his admonition. Uncle Harry told him he should join the military if that was his true desire. They went back and forth with personal jabs a couple of times and finally told the young man he should just pray about it. He really just wanted to know if there was anything in The Word that addressed the issue but came away with his question unanswered.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Harry actually ran a business, and was successful with it.

It's been reported around here that Harry's most important function was to rein in vpw whenever he came up with

his REALLY over-the-top ideas.

Some examples I could find instantly:

vpw wanted the family ranch in Gunnison, Colorado to have

-a gondola to the top of the mountain

-a riverside restaurant

-a private homes area, a recreation area

Oh, and how the "private homes" were supposed to work at Root locales....

People would be allowed to build homes on the grounds,

on the condition that the homes would become twi property upon their deaths.

AFAIK, only one couple took them up on it. Naturally, when they were kicked out, they weren't paid market-value

for the house (or anything else.)

So, Harry was the practical one who put on the brakes whenever vpw lost his mind.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was privileged to hang out with Harry Wierwille at times. He helped me find an apartment in St. Mary's when I was hired on staff, and he took me to auctions to show me how that operated. I got to know him a little. I was the first person to handle his book, as it was dictated onto cassette tapes and he asked me make the first copies for him.

I once asked him about how well he got along with Dr during BOT meetings and he told me, "We sometimes fight like cats and dogs, but if Vic says anything like 'Thus saith the Lord,' then I shut up."

Edited by Mike
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wasn't Harry already dead before twi owned the Gunnison property? I think he died in '76 or '77, and I never heard Gunnison mentioned until '78 or later, if I'm remembering correctly.

It wouldn't surprise me.

In honesty, lcm didn't report that these were specific ideas that vpw had that Harry put the

skids under, just that they were ideas vpw had for the property.

The accounts of Harry stopping vpw from off-the-wall ideas were separate from this.

When I hear ideas like these, I think they're TYPICAL of the types of ideas Harry

put a stop to.

The one about the houses wasn't dependent upon Gunnison, however. Then again,

Harry never stopped that idea, it just never took off. Few people wanted to donate

a house to twi.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...