Happy Easter

Claire Vaye Watkins Becomes "Story Prize" Winner

 

 YAY! for Claire!!!  It is so nice to see that Claire is getting recognition for her excellent book "Battleborn". 

 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/14/story-prize-winner-2013-_n_2871693.html?utm_hp_ref=books

Answer on the Misty Hay Q&A

From Ole J.C.

Regarding the March 21 post about Misty Hay (this one), I believe we have the answer (or at least a picture):

Click on link for Misty

http://iam.bradleymanning.org/post/7504965623

Manson "Attorney" Jailed as a Fraud

Remember Giovanni di Stefano the attorney who was going to get Charles Manson cleared of all charges in the World Court?  Well, it seems that di Stefano himself was a conman too, just like Charlie, and not an attorney at all.  He has been convicted of fraud and money laundering in the UK and received a 14 year sentence.  Many thanks to a loyal Eviliz lurker for this story!



Read the story here- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21969624

Eviliz's previous post on di Stefano
http://www.eviliz.com/2011/05/giovanni-di-stefano-asks-governor-jerry.html

Manson's Home on the Range by Gay Talese Part 1

One of the perks of being Eviliz iz people shower me with love, praise and misc Manson paraphernalia. Don't get the wrong idea, I always have room for more.  ; )~

Quite some time ago I received a book titled True Crime An American Anthology -  350 Years of Brilliant Crime About Dark Deeds- Editor Harold Schechter.

I worked like a slave in the Blizzard of 2013 typing this up for you all.  Now show your appreciation and buy an Eviliz t-shirt.  Or else.

Public fascination with Manson and his "Family" was reflected in an outpouring of writing about every facet of the case, including this 1970 Esquire magazine piece Charles Manson's Home on the Range by Gay Talese.

Charles Manson's Home on the Range                                  

The horse wrangler, tall and ruggedly handsome, placed his hands on the hips of a pretty girl wearing white bell-bottomed trousers and casually lifted her onto a hitching post near the stable; then, voluntarily, almost automatically, she spread her legs and he stood between her, moving slowly from side to side and up and down, stroking her long blonde hair while her arms and fingers caressed his  back, not quick or eagerly but quite passively, indolently a mood harmonious with his own.  They continued their slow erotic slumber for several moments under the mid-morning sun, swaying silently and looking without expression into one another's eyes, seeming totally unaware of their own lack of privacy and the smell of horse manure near their feet (gag) and the thousands of flies buzzing around them and the automobile that had just come down the dusty road and is now parked, motor idling, with a man inside calling through an open window to where the wrangler stood between the girl.  He slowly turned his head toward the car but did not withdraw from the girl.  He was about six feet four and wore a bone like ornament around his neck, and he had a long angular face with sandy beard and pale sharply focused blue eyes.  He did not seem perturbed by the stranger in the automobile; he assumed he was probably a reporter or detective, both having come in great numbers recently to this ranch in Southern California to speak with the proprietor, an old man named George Spahn, about a group of violent hippies that had lived on the ranch for a year but were not believed to have all moved away.  Spahn was not reluctant to talk about them, the wrangler knew, even though Spahn had never seen them, the old man being blind; so when the man in the car asked for George Spahn, a little smile formed on the wranglers face, knowing but enigmatic, and he pointed toward a shack at the end of a row of dilapidated empty wooden buildings.  Then, as the car pulled away, he again began his slow movements with the girl delicately balanced on the hitching post.

Spahn's ranch is lost in desert brush and rocky hills, but it is not so much a ranch as it is the old Western movie set it once was. The row of empty buildings extending along the dirt road toward Spahn's shack – decaying structures with faded signs marking them as a saloon, a barber shop, a café, a jail, and a carriage house- all were constructed many years ago as Hollywood settings for cowboy brawls and Indian ambushes, and among the many actors who performed in them, or in front of them, were Tom Mix and Johnny Mack Brown, Hoot Gibson, Wallace Beery, and The Cisco Kid. In the carriage house is a coach that supposedly was used by Grace Kelly in High Noon, and scattered here and there, and slept in by the stray dogs and cats that run wild on this land, are old wagons and other props used in scenes in Duel in The Sun, The Lone Ranger television series and Bonanza. Around the street set, on the edge of the clearing near the trees, are smaller broken-down shacks lived in by wranglers or itinerants who drift to this place periodically and work briefly at some odd job and then disappear. There is an atmosphere of impermanence and neglect about the place, unwashed windows, the rotting wood, the hauling truck parts on inclines because there batteries are low and need the momentum of a downhill start; and yet there is much that is natural and appealing about the place, not the ranch area itself, but the land in back of where the old man lives, being thick with trees and berry bushes and dipping toward a small creek and rising again toward the rocky foothills of the Santa Susanna Mountains. There are a few caves in the mountains that have been used from time to time as shelters by shy vagrants, and in the last few years hippies have sometimes been seen along the rocky ridges strumming guitars and singing songs. Now the whole area is quiet and still, though it is only twenty miles North West of Beverly Hills, it is possible from certain heights to look for miles in any direction without seeing any sign of modern life.

Spahn came to this region in the Nineteen-Thirties (when men were men and sheep were nervous) in the first great migration of the automobile age, a time when it was said to be a dream of every Midwestern Model T salesman to move to sunny Southern California and live in a bungalow with a banana plant in the front yard.  Except George Spahn had no such dream, nor was he a Midwestern Model T salesman.  He was a fairly successful dairy farmer from Pennsylvania with a passion for horses, preferring them to cars and to most of the people he knew.  The fact that his father had been kicked to death by a horse, an accident that occurred in 1891 when the elder Spahn was delivering slaughter livestock in a horse drawn wagon near Philadelphia, did not install in the son any fear of that animal; in fact, Spahn quit school after the third grade to work behind a horse on a milk wagon, and his close association with horses was to continue through the rest of his life, bring interrupted by choice only once.  That was during his sixteenth year when, temporarily tired of rising at 3 a.m. for his daily milk route, he accepted a job as a carpenter's apprentice, living in the carpenter's home and becoming in time seduced by the carpenter's lusty nineteen-year-old daughter.  She would entice him into the woods beyond the house on afternoons when her father was away, or into her bedroom at night after her father had gone to sleep; and even, one day, observing through her window two dogs copulating in the yard, she was suddenly overcome with desire and pulled Spahn to the floor on top of her-all this happening when he was sixteen, in 1906, a first sexual relationship that he can remember vividly and wistfully, even now at the age of eighty-one.

Though never handsome, Spahn was a strong solidly built man in his youth with a plain yet personable manner.  He had a hot temper at times, but he was never lazy.  When he was in his middle twenties his milk business in Willow Grove Pennsylvania, was large enough for him to operate five wagons and seven horses; and one of the men who he employed, more out of kindness than anything else, was his stepfather Tom Reah, who he had once despised. Spahn could never understand what his strict German-Irish mother had even seen in Reah, a rawboned man with a large belly, who, when drunk, could be vicious.  When in this condition Reah would sometimes assault young Spahn, beating him badly; although later Spahn fought back, once swearing at Reah: "You son of a bitch, I'm gonna kill you some day!”  On another occasion he threw an ice ax at Reah's head, (damnnn, all I had to do was dodge a spatula every now and then) missing by inches.

Before Spahn was thirty he had obtained an eighty-six-acre farm near Lansdale Pennsylvania, on which he kept thirty-five cows, several horses and a lady housekeeper he had hired after placing an advertisement in a local newspaper.  She had previously been married to a racing-car driver, who had been killed leaving her with one child.  Spahn found her congenial and able, if not reminiscent of the carpenter's daughter; and at some later date that Spahn cannot remember. They were married.  While it would not be an entirely happy or lasting marriage, they would remain together long enough to have ten children, nearly all of whom would be named after Spahn's horses.  He named his first daughter, Alice, after a yellow-white pinto he had once owned; and his second daughter, Georgiana, was named in honor of a gelding called George.  His third daughter Mary was named after a big bay mare; and when Spahn had a son, he named him George after himself and the aforementioned gelding.  Next came Dolly, after a big sorrel mare; and Paul, after a freckled pinto; and so on down the line.

During the early Thirties, in the Depression, Spahn contemplated moving west.  Animal feed was scare in Pennsylvania, the milk was frequently spoiled by the inadequate refrigeration system on his farm, and he was becoming disenchanted with life in general.  In an advertisement circulated by the Union Pacific Railroad, he had read about the virtues of Southern California, its predictable mild climate, its lack of rain in the summertime, its abundant feed for animals, and he was tempted.  He first came along by train to see Southern California for himself; then, satisfied, he returned home.  He sold his farm and packed his family, his furniture, his horse collars in a Packard sedan and a truck, and he shipped his best horses separately by rail.  He began the long voyage across the continent.  He would not regret his decision.

¿Dónde está Juan?

This is a simple question: What the hell happened to Juan Flynn? He wasn't technically a "Manson Family" member, yet he lived with them, partied with them, screwed them, ate with them, smelled them, helped them with errands, etc., and was a pretty familiar face. Funny, but I haven't seen any recent photos of him surface on the net (which is good for him, but bad for us). Listen, I don't blame the guy for not wanting to be exposed. There are probably bucket-loads of freaks out there that would start harassing him, just because! I do hope he is doing well, and will close with a clip of him answering a few questions. Adios amigos!!!

Video credit to itnsource.com

Gray Wolf was arrested with Family members as far back as 1970

Correct me if I'm wrong but hasn't Gray Wolf (Craig Hammond) said that he has only been affiliated with Manson for about 12 years?

OK, here's the video that gave me that impression. Pay close attention starting at about 2:20

San Quentin Vigil?

This pic was sent by a friend of the blog who's dad was a guard at San Quentin for decades. He took this shot while Manson was incarcerated there on death row. It was apparently a group of young people holding a vigil in protest Charles Manson's death sentence after his arrival there.

I personally do not recognize any family members. All of these kids look clean and all of them are wearing shoes, a few of them nice shoes.

Anybody recognize a face or two?

BREAKING NEWS: Texas judge says Manson disciple Charles 'Tex' Watson can't keep decades-old tapes from LAPD

DALLAS - A federal judge in Texas says the Los Angeles Police Department should be able to obtain the decades-old taped conversations between a Manson family disciple and his attorney.

Judge Richard A. Schell ruled Sunday that Charles "Tex" Watson waived his right to attorney-client privilege when he allowed the lawyer to sell the tapes to an author.

A bankruptcy court ruled last year that the LAPD should get the tapes, but Watson appealed.
The LAPD has sought the tapes on the basis that they could provide clues to unsolved murders.
A message left for an LAPD spokesman was not immediately returned Tuesday.

Watson is serving a life sentence in California for his role in the 1969 murders of actress Sharon Tate and six others.

His attorney, Kelly Puls, declined immediate comment.

Original Story HERE

Origins of the Buntline Special?

The Colt Buntline Special is a variant of long-barreled Colt Single Action Army revolver that author Stuart N. Lake created while writing his 1931 biography of Wyatt Earp.

Ned Buntline is supposed to have commissioned this weapon in 1876, but the Colt company has no record of receiving the order nor making any such weapon. Lake conceived the idea of a revolver that would be more precise and could be easily modified to work similarly to a rifle. Lake's creative biography Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal, published in 1931, and later Hollywood portrayals, exaggerated Wyatt's profile as a western lawman. The book later inspired a number of stories, movies and television programs about outlaws and lawmen in Dodge City and Tombstone, including the 1955 television series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp.

Ned Buntline, the "dime millionaire" and discoverer of Buffalo Bill, was born in Stamford, New York on March 20, 1823.

Perhaps more than any single writer, Ned Buntline was responsible for creating a highly romanticized and somewhat misleading image of the American West as the setting for great adventure and excitement. Born Edward Zane Carroll Judson, in 1845 he founded a sensationalistic magazine, called Ned Buntline's Own, in Nashville, Tennessee-Ned Buntline became the best known of several pseudonyms he used during his career.

Buntline's goal in life was straightforward: he wanted to make as much money as possible writing stories that the public would pay to read. He filled the pages of Ned Buntline's Own with all manner of outrageous stories, having a particular affinity for nautical adventures. An incorrigible womanizer (he married seven times), in 1846 he killed a jealous husband who suspected him of seducing his wife. Although Buntline had acted in self-defense, townspeople sympathetic to the dead man hanged Buntline from an awning post in the public square. Luckily, Buntline's friends cut the rope before he strangled and he was spirited out of town.

Buntline relocated to New York, where he resumed publishing his magazine. Though he had once dreamed of becoming a serious writer, he was desperate to make a living so he began to write more for a mass audience. Buntline's popular adventures were wildly successful, and he churned out dozens of melodramatic "shocking" stories over the course of only a few years. By the time he was in his late 20s, Buntline had earned the title "King of the Dime Novels" and was making an excellent living.

After traveling to San Francisco in 1869, Buntline realized he could easily adapt his stock adventure plots to a setting in the American West. At about the same time he met a handsome young scout and buffalo hunter named William Frederick Cody. Buntline claimed to have given Cody the nickname "Buffalo Bill," though Cody said he earned the name years before as a hunter for the railroads.

Buntline's decision to write a dime novel starring Buffalo Bill Cody made the relatively unknown scout into a national media star. Buntline's book The Scout of the Plains grossly exaggerated Cody's western adventures, but the public loved the thrilling tale. Always the promoter, Buntline turned the novel into a play that he staged in Chicago. In 1872, Buntline convinced Cody to travel to the city and play himself in the production. Cody was a poor actor, but his participation brought in people and money.

Cody broke with Buntline after a year, but the national fame he gained because of Buntline's work eventually allowed "Buffalo Bill" to create his famous Wild West show. Buntline churned out other western dime novels, and he eventually became the nation's top literary money earner, surpassing the income of writers like Walt Whitman and Mark Twain. Buntline prized his wealth, but he remained scornful of his own work. "I found that to make a living I must write 'trash' for the masses, for he who endeavors to write for the critical few, and do his genius justice, will go hungry if he has no other means of support."

Buntline died at his home in Stamford, New York, in 1886. He was 63 years old and had written more than 400 novels and countless other short stories and articles.

An Interview With Karl Stubbs' Neighbor

On Sunday, March 17, I spoke with Kathleen Costello (not her real name), who was a friend and neighbor of Karl Stubbs in Olancha, CA.

Starting at the beginning: The assault on Mr. Stubbs happened on November 12, 1968. He died on Nov. 15.  Our impression at Eviliz was that Karl Stubbs was blind, but according to Kathleen, Mr. Stubbs was a strapping 6’+ man (even at age 82) who got around just fine on his own. He was not blind. After the attack, his eyes were swollen shut and his head was swollen, which is what contributed to the myth that he was blind. He was also completely lucid the day after the attack.

According to police reports, there was a white car containing 2 young men and 2 young women with Indiana license plates seen in Ridgecrest 1 hour after the report of the attack. Karl Stubbs described his attackers as being 2 young men and 2 young women.  

According to Kathleen, Karl made his living during his prime as a railroad worker and now lived on a pension. He walked to the nearby store and paid for his groceries, etc. with cash that he kept in his bib overalls. The assumption may have been that these 4 young people may have seen him in the store and thought he had a lot of money and made him a robbery target. But, according to Kathleen he had very little money, and survived by selling small amounts of his acreage over the years -some of which Kathleen and her husband purchased.

On the morning of the attack, on her way to work, Kathleen drove past Mr. Stubbs’ driveway and saw a white car there. She took notice of this, as Mr. Stubbs did not drive or often receive visitors. Another woman, Clara Castner, who with her husband owned the service station, used to bring Mr. Stubbs’ mail to him daily. On this day, there were people in his house: 2 young men and 2 young women. Stubbs said they were there to get water or something.  Helping people was normal for him, and she didn’t think he was under duress at the time, so she felt comfortable leaving.

After he was attacked and beaten, Mr. Stubbs crawled to Kathleen’s house. Her husband Jim (Jim died in 1990) and Clara Caster (also a neighbor) found him in the driveway.  They called 911, then sat with Karl until the ambulance arrived. He told all parties present that when the men kicked him, the girls laughed. They thought he had money hidden somewhere, but he didn’t..

Over one year later as the TLB trial became national news, Clara recognized Tex as being one of the ones in the house.  That’s when it clicked for her. A lot of people thought that Clara Castner was nuts. “But she wasn’t crazy. Her religion was odd and she talked about things that people didn’t understand. But she was not crazy. She was a school teacher for a long time. She just had religious beliefs that were different than ours”.

As far as Hannum Ranch is concerned, Kathleen does not remember it as ever being a working ranch but more as just a property spread. She remembers David Hannum (who worked at Spahn, hence the connection with the Manson Family) very outgoing and verbal. Not crazy. He was just a nice young man. Joy and Roy Hunter who owned and lived for a time at Hannum Ranch were his aunt and uncle. She says David, their nephew could not have possibly been involved in the nefarious activities surrounding the Family. She also firmly believes that David had the authority to allow them to park the tractor trailer(s) there to use it as a staging area to run supplies to Barker Ranch. He was also the person that was able to allow Tex & Snake the ability to stay there after the TLB murders although he had no knowledge of those crimes. Although Kathleen said might be able to find David through Joy (his aunt), the MansonBlog staff has found evidence that he died back in June of 1998.

Manson Lookalike - Amy Sedaris

That is f-ing hilarious

Voytek

                                                                      Voytek center

Voytek with his wife

Pics from cielodrive.com

Martha Marcy May Marlene.....Manson?

Yes, the movie I am referring to has been out for quite a while (2011), but.....I saw it again last night, and was struck about how many similarities there were in the "family" portrayed in this movie, and the real "Family" headed by one Charles Manson. Little details in the movie were very similar, indeed. Of course, I am quite sure the producers of Martha Marcy May Marlene were not interested in making another Manson-movie at all, but it was clever how they implanted little details in the storyline. What I wonder is this: did a lot of the Manson girls behave in similar fashion to the main character in this movie? Were they as damaged? Traumatized, perhaps? Yeah, yeah, I know this movie is old news, but it is interesting to me. This movie, in my opinion was well done, and opens up the door to discussion on the similarities.....Shall we discuss, or do I really need to get a life?

Q&A Misty Hay

Does anyone have any info on Misty Hay?

Article from Ole JC.

Some New Clem Pics

Maybe one day we'll get him without a hat on. Lol.

Thanks, Ole JC!

Mountjoy writes about Tex Watson

en.wikipedia.org



As promised in his article about Charles Manson, psychologist Paul Mountjoy has written an article about Tex Watson.  Unfortunately I didn't see any secrets being revealed, it pretty much read like the same old stuff we've been treated to ad nauseum over the years.  You be the judge.

http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/steps-authentic-happiness-positive-psychology/2013/mar/17/charles-manson-vs-charles-watson/

Windy on Larry Bailey

Using the name Larry Jones, Larry Bailey was living at Windy's home along with Juan Flynn and Johnny Schwartz during the TLB trial.  Larry had said he was scared being around the other Family members all the time and asked if he could stay there, too.  He settled in and for all intent appeared to fit in with everyone there. Both Juan and Johnny were scheduled to testify at the TLB trial in the near future.  Windy, Juan and Johnny were soon to learn that Larry was there for another purpose.

During the day they would all go to their respective jobs.  In the evening they would go back to Windy's for the night.  I believe Juan and Larry were still working at Spahn and Johnny was working for man that sold hay.  Johnny Schwartz liked western movies and TV shows and sat in front of the TV most of the time in the evening with the thing blaring.  Juan was usually restless pacing around and doing different things.  Windy would take care of her daughter, cook and the like.

One night they heard some commotion outside and it put everyone on alert.  Then it sounded like someone was on the roof and they were trying to saw through it!  Juan jumped and got a shotgun and started firing at the ceiling, many times.  Windy said that Johnny calmly sat there watching his show while Juan was shooting up the place and said "It's getting a little western out tonight." They eventually went outside and sure enough someone had tried to saw through the roof.

Juan was the one to figure out that Larry was a Manson plant that turned out to be a snitch.  He was telling the Family members that were sympathetic to Manson where Juan and Johnny were staying and what the routine was around Windy's .  The Family hatched a plan to killed both Juan and Johnny before they could testify because they thought their testimony would hurt Manson.  Naturally, they botched the thing entirely.

Ah, but no bad deed goes unpunished.  Juan didn't let on to Larry that he knew that Larry was the snitch.  One night Juan, Johnny and Windy took Larry out for the evening or so he thought. They took him to a spot near Spahn Ranch, stripped him naked and tied him to a tree and left him there.  I'm betting that ranch hands can tie some pretty decent knots. Windy has no idea how long he was there or how he became untied but they didn't have trouble with him any more.

A Psychologist Interviews and Speaks Out on Charles Manson

current.com

A Virginia based psychologist, Paul Mountjoy, landed an interview with Manson.  His goal was to try to determine which psychological disorders fit Manson's personality. 

In an upcoming article at the publication Mountjoy  will share some insight on Tex, who he says revealed a secret.

"According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders V- TR, (DSM-V- TR) the criteria used by mental health professionals, those with Anti-Social Personality Disorder (ASPD) are skilled at hiding their disorder and seem outwardly friendly and accommodating. They are skilled at verbal manipulation and can escape detection for years, even for life. They may appear normal and charming but they are devoid of compassion and sympathy and do not relate to pain, suffering and hurt experienced by others. They truly could not care less."

Read more HERE

Q&A on James Craig

From our curious German friends-

Why do you think AB member Craig was murdered?

Windy discusses Spahn Ranch

Windy was kind enough to take a Life magazine picture of Spahn Ranch and label it showing what each part of the main building was used for and what the surrounding things were in the picture.  She accompanied this with a narrative of how living and eating arrangements were before Charles Manson and the others arrived.  Windy also included a little bit about after the Family's arrival.

"OK, LOOK AT THE photo I have attached. This was it. No road covered with trees, no bungalows or whatever they were supposed to be. One of the guys, either Larry or Ben slept in the jail. It had a bunk, dresser, nite stand and a place to hang his clothes. It looked just like a cell in the old towns. It had a desk for the sheriff and places to hang guns, hats wanted posters, etc. during the day the jail was open to visitors but the cell was locked. It had electric lights etc. Now the general store was always locked but had posters of stuff you could have bought if it were a real town. The saloon was open for visitors but didn’t sell nothing. People could go in and sit and bring a picnic lunch if they wanted, we did sell soda. The café had an adjoining door and could also be used by visitors but we didn’t use it ourselves unless we were having a party with outsiders. We cooked and ate at the table in Georges house. YOU went up the steps and into the living room. To the right was Pearl's Room - always kept locked, and to the left was the area where the table set with the kitchen beyond that with a open divider and on the back wall was George's room. In the living room on the back wall was a beautiful marble mantle hand carved with colored marble animals. Near that sat George's chair. He sat there all the time with a little dog. At the far end of the living room (it wasn’t real large) was a couch and a couple overstuffed chairs. Under George's house (as you were facing it) to the right were steps going down (rather steep) turn left and there was the bathroom and next to it a shower. (the only one on the whole place except down at the lower ranch house. Both places (I believe) were connected to cisterns for water.

Now the reason the general store was locked: you could enter it from behind through the harness shop and it had been divided into several small private rooms each with a bed, dresser, chair and closet. The men decorated to suit themselves. There was also a storage room off the saloon and it too was a room for a man (or a woman) the same with the café, it was a pantry I guess. There were times when all the rooms were full. When we all lived there, we kept the mountains clean and had no near fires. It took a crew to run horses to graze each spring. We grazed the entire area off until there was no fire danger. Manson’s crew caused the fires because no one would stay there to work.

There were some trees leading down the road to the lower ranch house and the outlaw shacks. We had electricity there and running water. But there were no flowers to pick or hardly anywhere to run around like they showed. There was no water fall at Spahn’s ranch. They would have to cross over and go down into Devil’s Canyon. That was on the other side of the road.

Actually, never saw the older kids much, I believe they kept them out of site, as they didn’t go to school, doctors, etc. I usually just saw the babies laying on blankets out in front of Spahn's house., Cold or not they would be naked. Sometimes a half a dozen or more. I covered them up and Charlie would have a fit. He said they’d grow up strong and never feel the cold if started that way (he had on a jacket off course).. I said they’d probably die of pneumonia. I still believe some did.

There were a lot more people staying there than they show in any book, movie or magazine. A lot of them were probably runaways and stayed hidden. I would see half dressed pregnant girls down by the shacks and the lower house that I never saw up top.

The dancing and partying they showed could have been in the saloon or café although neither were very large. The room they showed didn’t exist. Neither did the rooms or the beds or the cleanliness of it all. There were no laundry facilities. The shower under Georges house was mainly cold because we couldn’t keep the hot water tank working. Sometimes it did and we’d all rush to take a warm shower. Lots of times it was just was in a bowl with heated water from the stove. They generally wore those long dresses that the hippies made popular, and it seemed they all had greasy hair. Or the girls ran around with no bras, tank tops shorts so short they might as well have been naked, boobs showing etc. Most of the men ended up looking the same. Hair a mess and stubble or beards, again half naked most of the time."

Dennis Wilson: I Live with 17 Girls

 

According to Wikipedia: Record Mirror was a British weekly music newspaper, published between 1954 and 1991. The paper became respected by both mainstream pop music fans and serious record collectors. It was the most progressive of the four competing music weeklies of its day, the others being Melody Maker, New Musical Express (NME) and Disc magazine.

Thank you, Ole JC!

Manson being interviewed in chapel at Vacaville

In this video, you can't really hear what the interview is about in the beginning, but you can just see Charlie hanging around some other convicts, and then walking around with a mop in the chapel. I suppose this footage was taken when he was in charge of keeping the chapel clean. Interesting to look at, but frustrating if you want to hear what they are saying throughout the whole footage. A point to note: Manson says in this interview that he wishes he could be reborn, and start all over. That is the only "normal" thing I have ever heard come out of his mouth in interviews. Also to note: I wonder if he was drugged on psychiatric medications during his Vacaville stay, and in particular during this interview? Shall we view?

More From Randy Starr's Wife

First part of the story is here:
http://www.eviliz.com/2013/03/an-interview-with-randy-starrs-wife.html

Windy and Shorty had been friends for years.  The people who were regulars at the ranch were like family and counted on each other.  Some, like Shorty came to work at the ranch between other jobs.  Windy remembers Shorty being 6' 4" and about 210 pounds, he had a dark brown beard and wild blue eyes.  She said, he claimed he was called Shorty because of a morning that he had to "goose his self and rope his tool to take a morning leak"!  They worked hard on the ranch and they played hard, too.

Shorty came from a working family and grew up in Medford Massachusetts .  His father John was a truck driver for a food distribution company.  Shorty's mother was French Canadian.  In 1940 there were five boys with Shorty being the middle son, he had two older brothers and two younger brothers.

And now we'll pick up where we left off last week.

Word had gotten up to Spahn that Windy had been beat up and Shorty, out of concern for Windy, went over to her house to check up on her.  He took one look at her and became enraged.  Windy explained to Shorty about the police stop, that her truck was seen at one robbery felt to be connected to other robberies, then how Manson had come over and demanded the keys to her truck and when she wouldn't comply proceeded to beat her up.  She said that Manson was a dirty fighter, too, kicking her while she lay on the floor.  Shorty turned on his heels and immediately headed towards Bill Vance's house screaming as he got close, "Come out of there, you yellow bastard."  Little Harvey was the first one out of the house and tried to calm Shorty down, he was swatted away by Shorty for his troubles.  Next Bill Vance came to the doorway and out of the house, Shorty coldcocked him, no questions asked, leaving him lie in the yard.  Bill and Shorty had once been friends having worked together at Spahn before Bill thought he would give up being a cowboy to become a truck driver.  The friendship ended that day.

By this time Manson had armed himself with a knife and also came out of the house.  He was talking tough but this time Manson's slick verbal patter did not do him any good.  Shorty proceeded  to beat him to a pulp from the front of the house all the way out to the middle of the street where he left him on the center line unspeaking and not moving.

Windy firmly believes that the beating Manson took that day from Shorty is the reason why he was killed. She also believes that is why so many of the guys attacked him en masse.  Manson was thoroughly humiliated that day.

Manson's Influence on Eric Harris

There is no direct evidence that Eric Harris read Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi, the book about Charles Manson that Dylan used as the primary source for his research paper. However, given Eric's fascination with violence and the fact that his best friend read the book, it would not be surprising if Eric read Helter Skelter. In addition, the number of parallels between Eric's writings and statements found within Helter Skelter suggests that Eric not only read the book, but also deliberately patterned himself after Manson.

Manson was said to have two enemies: the police, and African Americans.3 Eric identified the police as the "person" he hated the most.4 Elsewhere, in a list of people he hated, he wrote "cops! Stupid law enforcing people!!!"5 He also spouted racist comments and jokes,6 and wrote about sending blacks back to Africa.7 His racism is of particular interest because as a younger boy his best friends included one who was black and one who was Asian.8 In fact, a friend of his at Columbine who was part Mexican commented that Eric was not racist toward him at all,9 and an African American classmate said Eric showed no signs of racism toward her.10 It thus appears that Eric's racism was not deeply rooted, but adopted as an attitude during adolescence.

One of Manson's followers said Manson "wanted to do a crime that would shock the world, that the world would have to stand up and take notice."11 Eric wrote, "I want to leave a lasting impression on the world."12 Helter Skelter, the race war that Manson believed he would start, was supposed to "be all the wars that have ever been fought built on top of the other."13 Eric wrote that his attack would be like "the LA riots, the Oklahoma bombing, WWII, Vietnam, Duke and Doom all mixed together"14 (Duke and Doom are video games). Manson "was convinced he could personally start that war himself."15 He told his followers, "I'm going to have to start the revolution."16 Similarly, Eric thought he could start a revolution: "Maybe we will even start a little rebellion or revolution."17 Elsewhere he said, "We need to fucking kick-start the revolution here! … If we have a fucking religious war – or oil – or anything. We need to get a chain reaction going here."18

The war that Manson envisioned was to result in global destruction: "Charlie was going to bring on the ruination of the world, and this is why all the murders were committed."19 Manson himself said, "I'm going to kill as many of you as I can. I'm going to pile you up to the sky. I figure about fifty million of you."20

Like Manson, Eric thought in terms of global destruction. One passage in his journal says, "If you recall your history the Nazis came up with a "final solution" to the Jewish problem. Kill them all. Well, in case you haven't figured it out yet, I say ‘KILL MANKIND' no one should survive."21 He also wrote: If I can wipe a few cities off the map, and even the fuckhead holding the map, then great. Hmm, just thinking if I want all humans dead or maybe just the quote-unquote "civilized, developed, and known-of " places on Earth, maybe leave little tribes of natives in the rain forest or something. Hmm, I'll think about that.22

Manson and his followers rejected the idea that words had real meanings. They also rejected basic concepts of right and wrong, guilt, crime, and sin. If the concepts have no meaning, then people are free to do whatever they want and feel no remorse. This rejection of values and meaning appears repeatedly in Helter Skelter as well as Eric's writings. For example, a Manson family member said, "Sorry is only a five-letter word."23 Eric wrote, "Sorry is just a word."24 Other quotes from Helter Skelter demonstrate a rejection of morality:

• "All words had no meanings to us"25
• "Guilty. Not guilty. They are only words."26
• "There is no crime, there is no sin, everything is all right."27
• "Whatever is necessary, you do it. When somebody needs to be killed, there's no wrong."28
• Eric repeatedly made statements like those from Helter Skelter in which he rejected traditional values and morals:
• "There is no such thing as an actual ‘real world.' Its just another word like justice, sorry, pity, religion, faith, luck and so on."29
• "Fuck money, fuck justice, fuck morals, fuck civilized, fuck rules, fuck laws…DIE manmade words … There's no such thing as True Good or True evil."30
• "‘Morals' is just another word, and that's it."31
• "Just because your mumsy and dadsy told you blood and violence is bad, you think it's a fucking law of nature? Wrong."32

Manson made many comments that indicate he thought of himself (literally or figuratively) as Jesus. He identified himself as "Charles Manson, also known as Jesus Christ, Prisoner."33 A follower of his said, "Charlie claimed that he had lived before, nearly two thousand years ago, and that he had once died on the cross."34 Manson referred to the court case against him as "this trile [sic] of Man's son."35

Though Eric rejected Jesus, he frequently referred to himself as God or god-like. He wrote "Ich bin Gott," which is German for "I am God" in his own planner and in the yearbooks of at least four classmates.36 He also wrote, "I feel like God and I wish I was."37 Both Manson and Eric viewed themselves as the ones who established laws. Manson said, "I make laws. I'm the lawmaker."38 Eric wrote, "My belief is that if I say something, it goes. I am the law."39 When he was arrested in 1967, Manson listed his occupation as "minister."40 According to a friend, Eric was known as "preacher."41 Eric himself identified one of his nicknames as "reverend."42

Eric and Dylan, in fact, had several nicknames. The most puzzling ones are names of colors. Eric was "Indigo" and Dylan was "Green."43 Why? What meaning was there in colors? Manson created the Order of the Rainbow and gave his closest disciples color nicknames.44 For example, Squeaky Fromme was known as "Red" and Sandra Good was known as "Blue."45 Perhaps Eric and Dylan imitated this practice.

Both Manson and Eric admired Hitler. Manson thought "Hitler had the best answer to everything."46 In addition, Manson "said that Hitler was a tuned-in guy who had leveled the karma of the Jews."47 Eric made clear his admiration for Hitler when he wrote, "I love the Nazis."48

Manson preached that murder was not as bad as killing animals or plants. He valued nature over humanity: "To Manson it was not wrong to kill a human being, but it was wrong to kill an animal or plant."49 Manson said, "I'd rather kill people than animals."50 When Manson spoke of killing millions of people, he commented, "I might be able to save my trees and my air and my water and my wildlife."51 Eric seemed to echo Manson's ideas. He wrote about eliminating humanity but preserving nature: "the human race isn't worth fighting for, only worth killing. Give the Earth back to the animals, they deserve it infinitely more than we do."52 He also commented, "I think we are all a waste of natural resources and should be killed off."53

Thus, despite any statements from Eric that he was interested in Manson, there are many reasons to think that Manson was a significant influence on Eric.

Download the PDF HERE

Barbara Beausoleil's last dance performance

Clockworks Cafe & Cultural Center

Salem, OR
September 28, 2012

Rosie Blanchard-Tate-Polanski: Woman of God, Mother, Teacher, Advocate for the Disabled/Special Needs Children, Author, Dancer, Daughter, Listener, and Friend.

Good news! Rosie Blanchard-Tate-Polanski is on Twitter!!!
https://twitter.com/PolanskiJulia

A glimpse into the mind of Rosie Blanchard-Tate-Polanski. A seriously disturbed woman - my head hurts just from going back and reading her tweets from the beginning. It also says something about the state of mind of Billy Garrettson - who falls in love with someone who is this disturbed?!?

Her train of thought is erratic and really hard to track from one tweet to another, but from what I can gather, she's now saying that Sharon had twins - one boy, one girl, the boy is "Daniel". Steve McQueen is the father. Roman had them taken away. A nun, by the name of Sister Rose Vernette seemingly the evil woman who hid her away. She writes about about relatives named Blanchard. She has a daughter named Sharon (with learning disabilities?)

Claims McQueen is still alive living under the alias of Levon.

Claims Colonel Tate is still alive. Calls him (I think) Jim Hern. I guess she also claims that Garrettson, "Hern", Flebbe, and McQueen - aka Levon, kidnapped her daughter back in 2000?

One word--Yikes.

Q&A from Grump

There has been a name that Charlie mentioned at least 2 times that I know of. The name is “Doc Hartman”.

In the Diane Sawyer interview: “I was raised in the judges robe, under Doc Hartman, I’m like his little boy”

In his 1992 Parole hearing: “So I went through the lieutenant there and they brought the guys - the lieutenants and the men that were in uniforms from the dentists office and all the Navy and the doctors from Doc Hartman, they brought them from back east…”

Any idea who or what a Doc Hartman is???

Question from "Neil of San Diego"

above: 122 Lyon Street, Haight Ashbury

Hello Patty ... I've seen that your site is well thought out....quite an achievement actually.

What happened after Squeaky, Brunner and Charlie first came together at Brunner's place?  I should be more specific in my question. The time frame: Charlie has picked up Squeaky and returns to Brunner's Place. Did Charlie, Brunner, and Squeaky hang together at the Haight (Cole St etc) for several months, when Squeaky first showed up from Venice?

I gather that the three soon ran into Atkins at Lyon Street. Shortly thereafter, they hopped on the bus to go north on a trip to Mendocino. Going south they pick up Krenwinkle. They eventually return to the Haight.Where are they all staying? Where is Krenwinkle staying? What are they doing for money? Hanging out on their renovated bus? What are Squeaky and Charlie up to in the Haight at this time?  Seems like the books I've read gloss over this hole in the early family history...

Is there some "pro" out there who might be able to sort me out on this?

Sincerely,
Neil of San Diego

An interview with Randy Starr's wife

Here at the blog we have been fortunate to have been invited to interview stuntman Randy Starr's wife. For the purpose of posting the interviews she has asked that we refer to her as Windy Bucklee.  Windy first arrived at Spahn Ranch around 1963 and went by the Windy name at that time.  Windy is a Native American Indian who has lead a varied and sometimes tragic life.  When young, in the 1940's, she, along with many other Indian children, was taken by the government from her family and placed in an Indian boarding school.  The government thought at that time this was the best way to assimilate the Native Americans into the white man's society and ways.  She was eventually placed with a white family in Ohio who treated her no better than an indentured servant.  Because of that she ran away at the age of 16 and never looked back.  At the time she ran away Montie Montana's Wild West Show was in the area and she was able to find work and a way to leave Ohio with the show.  Windy worked for Montana across the US ending up in southern California in the mid to late '50's.  She briefly worked for another Wild West Show which took her to the western states but those types of shows were dying out so she sought work in the many stables and ranches in southern California.

Windy is not very good with dates, it is not in the Indian culture to keep constant tabs on time in general, for that reason she has been vague at times about when certain things took place.  I have tried my best to organize her timetable by comparing it to when her children were born or some other well known event that could be looked up.  Windy had worked for a woman named Gladys Cox who took in horses that were less than desirable and turned them around to be well mannered and saleable.  Mrs. Cox was acquainted with George Spahn and his ranch having done business with him.  When Mrs. Cox became ill she arranged for Windy to work and live at Spahn.  This was in 1963 and Windy worked and lived there off and on until the ranch burned in 1970.  She did not always work full time and at times she took other jobs elsewhere.  Such was life on the ranch where people came and went with whatever opportunities seemed best in the moment.  Windy did tell me that Ruby Pearl was a constant at Spahn although Ruby gave up spending the night at Spahn when things with Charles Manson and the Family became overwhelmingly tense.

Windy met Randy Starr at Spahn around 1964, they fell in love and had a wedding ceremony up on Indian Mesa at the ranch.  Randy wore all black and rode a black stallion, Windy wore white buckskins and rode a white mare.  Windy told me that it was an Indian ceremony and I'm not entirely certain that it was a legal marriage.  Windy really did not have much use nor see the point in the white mans way and still doesn't.  Randy and Windy had a daughter in March of 1965 and named her Starlina.  Starlina was born, what Windy called a thyroid baby, and she lived only four months. After the baby died Randy was devastated and took off for his home state of Illinois for about 18 months leaving Windy behind in southern California.  While in Illinois Randy was in an automobile accident and lost the use of one of his arms.  Windy and Randy still had a bond and worked together at Spahn off and on but never lived together again. 

Sometime in 1967 Windy had moved from Spahn to a house on Gresham St. a few houses away from Bill Vance.  She knew Vance from working at Spahn, he had been a cowboy but wanted to try something else so he bought a semi truck, he had no trailer for it and was planning on getting jobs hauling other peoples trailers.  Apparently the semi was always needing repairs and he rarely used it.  At this time Windy was working for a company called New Art Publishing and Party Company full time and not working at the ranch.  She became close friends with Vance and his roommate Little Harvey.  Little Harvey was a midget who had a Bull named Elmer that he put in fairs, parades and sideshows.  Elmer was a Swiss bull with three eyes and four horns.  I kid you not!  Windy was telling at that time that part of Gresham St. and the next block were parcels with a little bit of acreage.  Kind of like ranchettes. 

Windy first met Charlie Manson in late 1967 or early 1968 at Bill Vance's on Gresham St.  She does not know how Bill and Charlie met, he just showed up there with a few of the girls and started living there along with Bill, Harvey and Elmer.  Since Bill and Windy were close friends and Bill's only mode of transportation was the semi she gave Bill a second set of keys to her truck and allowed Bill to use it while she was at work.  She never really knew when he was going to use the truck and she was fine with that as long as the truck was there when she left work.

One day while she and her daughter, from a marriage previous to Randy, were out in the truck she was pulled over by the police and questioned about where she was at certain times.  She learned from the police that there had been a number of robberies and that the license plate number of her truck matched the plate number of a truck seen at one of the robberies.  In total there had been eight robberies that they were investigating.  She was able to prove that she had been at work at the time the robberies were committed and couldn't have done them.  The police let her go but by this time she had put two and two together and knew who had done the crimes.  She did not tell the police her suspicions.  When she arrived home she went immediately to Bill Vance's madder than a wet hen, read him the riot act and demanded her truck keys back.  A couple of hours later Charlie came over to her house and asked for the truck keys back and she refused.  Charlie proceeded to beat the crap out of her breaking her jaw and causing other injuries.  She had a gun in her house that her brother had left for her, she tried to shoot Charlie three times but because she was unfamiliar with the gun and she was pretty beat up she could not figure out how to get the safety off.  Windy told me that Charlie ran when he saw she had the gun and she regrets not having shot him as she figured she could have saved a few lives down the road.   Windy ended up in the hospital for a couple of days.

Next, I will tell you Shorty Shea's reaction to Windy's beating by Manson.



Photo compliments of cielodrive.com

Q&A Back to the Barker raid ammo question

You all might recall one of our members "Matt W" asking a previous question (see below) about the ammo seized at the Barker ranch raid.  I was chatting with Matt W about it recently and he brought up an interesting question. Was it James Willett who stole the weapons/ammo for the Family?
Matt W also brought up a good point being we don't even know if James was ever stationed there.

Hi Liz, I've been reading your blog for a couple weeks, looking for specific information regarding a list of weapons that were seized during the Spahn and Barker ranch raids. Main reason was while I was stationed at Camp Pendleton (Ca) there was a report of  someone stealing grenades and other armaments. The only people having access to the armory would have been Marines (to my knowledge). Any help sure would be appreciated...