Peoples
Temple Radio Codebook
Alternative Considerations of Jonestown & Peoples
Temple
http://jonestown.sdsu.edu
[Ed. note: Peoples Temple used coded messages in shortwave broadcasts between Jonestown, Georgetown and San Francisco, in part to circumvent FCC regulations on conducting business over amateur airwaves. In the first section of codes, for example, Peoples Temple cloaked its legal discussions – which were not permitted under its HAM radio license – with references to medical procedures.
To ensure that different radio operators understood each other, the Temple created a code book of aliases and cryptic phrases, the contents of which are published below.
Although the book is undated, the “Us” and “Them” listings includes Debby Layton among the Temple antagonists, and Terri Buford among the loyalists. This means the book was compiled sometime between May 1978, when Debby defected, and October, when Terri left Jonestown.
There are several sections to the code book, and several styles of type, suggesting more than one compiler. One result of this compilation by multiple users is some of the categories are alphabetized only by first letter, and some not at all. The reverse dictionary aspect of the book – the listing of the people for whom there are codes – is also alphabetized only by first letter. If you wish to locate the code name for a specific individual, we recommend you use your “Find” function for that person.
Following the main code book are several supplemental sheets of codes also located in Temple files now housed at the California Historical Society.
Following all code sheets is an alphabetical listing of the people named in the book, along with whatever identifications we have of them.
The code book was recovered in the Jonestown community following the mass deaths and released under the Freedom of Information Act. The copies of these lists were furnished by the California Historical Society.
We have tried to make the entries internally consistent, correcting misspellings and punctuation errors, noting abbreviations, and cross-referencing codes wherever possible. For copies of the original pages of the code book, contact this website at remoore@mail.sdsu.edu or fieldingmcgehee@yahoo.com.]
Legal Problems
| [translated code] |
[code entry] |
| Action Equality, Inc. |
Freddie |
| Air compressor |
Microscope |
| Affidavit |
case history, incident report, progress chart |
| Appeal |
take new blood slides |
| Apostolic Corp. |
Alice, Mr. Ames, Avon |
| Articles of Incorporation |
First Aid Book |
| Arrested |
had asthma attack |
| Attorney |
cardiologist |
| Attorney/Fees |
had _____ patients |
| Attorney/Client confidentiality |
CPR classes |
| Appellate brief |
report on blood slides |
| Audit |
check blood pressure |
| Appraise, Appraiser |
sample |
| Attorney General |
Mrs. Bailey, Mr. Black, Mrs. Ericson |
|
|
|
| Bail |
flowers & cards |
| Blood test for paternity |
check for broken bones |
| By-laws |
First Aid class notes |
| Breach of confidentiality |
failed CPR final |
|
|
|
| Citizenship, renounce |
took off guest list |
| Cash |
Mr. Bowen, Agnes, Mrs. Fenton |
| Conspiracy |
Voluntary action, Mrs. Dietrich |
| Counter offer |
get second opinion on idea of surgery |
| Conservatorship |
nosebleeds |
| Change of venue |
call Edward in ____ (place) |
| Civil lawsuit |
measles |
| Calif. Appeals Ct. |
Dr. Albert, Dr. Appleton |
| Calif. Supreme Ct. |
Dr. Archer, Dr. Atkins |
| Conviction |
high fever |
| Court |
Mr. Ashford, Mrs. Fennell |
| Court ruled against us |
bedrest |
| Court ruled in our favor |
Jogging |
| Criminal charge |
Daniel, Dixon |
| Court judgement |
Ashford’s ideas |
| Confiscation |
close examination |
| Custody suit |
Draper |
| Custody of children awarded to |
sent x-rays to ___ |
| Conflict of interest |
emotional |
| Case moved to |
Edward visiting _____ |
| Continued hearing to |
changed dr., new appt. ____ |
| Corporation |
free clinic of Dr. Dowling |
| Corporate resolution |
guest book page |
|
|
|
| Deed |
School record |
| District attorney |
Radiologist, Mrs. Caswell, Mr. Boyden |
| Divorse [Divorce] |
Mrs. Dutton |
| Dissolve the corporation |
talk to Mrs. Dewalt |
| Escrow closes on ___ |
going to call Drake on _____ |
| Deposition |
physical exam on ____ (date) |
| Extradite |
Mrs. Fomasi, Mrs. Foley |
| Discovery |
visiting hours |
|
|
|
| Federal |
Mr. Adair, Mrs. Boyce, arrogant, cautious |
| Freeze assets |
allergy diet |
| Fuel tanks in Willits [California] |
Edith’s medical dictionary |
| Franchise Tax Board |
Mrs. Duncan, Desoto, Mr. Daly |
|
|
|
| Grand jury |
Mr. Disney, Dora, Cox |
| Guilty |
edema, obese |
| Not guilty |
thin, skinny |
|
|
|
| Hearing, court |
Ashford’s next appt/ is _____ |
|
|
|
| Illegal |
gossiping, tantrums |
| Injunction, enjoin |
close the door, conclude reasearch [research] |
| Interrogatories |
medications list |
| Indictment |
Mrs. Albee’s letter |
|
|
|
| Judge |
Feinburg |
| Jury |
old friends, classmates |
| Has jurisdiction |
specializes in |
| Jail |
Mr. Askers, Mrs. Abrams |
|
|
|
| Libel |
Mr. Alessi |
| Lie detector tests |
Breslin’s book |
|
|
|
| Malice |
Mr. Brill |
|
|
|
| Notarize |
put in confidential file, verify |
| Not admissible in court |
lacks substance |
| Note (real estate) |
post office box renewal ticket |
|
|
|
| Order to show cause |
Mr. Buckley |
| Operating as a church |
Sunday school, family counseling |
|
|
|
| Police |
Dr. Ace, Dr. Ball |
| On probation |
continue medication til ____ |
| U.S. Peoples Temple Corp. |
Mr. Arms, Mr. Barra |
| Peoples Forum, Inc. [Temple newspaper] |
Mr. Bain |
| Pets Unlimited |
Barney, Able |
| Paternity |
blood pressure, weather report |
| Public defender |
Mr. Burke |
|
|
|
| Record the deed |
have Bogner read it |
| Recorder’s office |
Bogner’s house |
| Religious mailers |
Youth Group movies |
| The Ranch |
Mrs. Bush’s place, Mrs. Curry’s |
| RWV [Redwood Valley] Parsonage |
Cole |
| RWV church |
Colbern |
|
|
|
| Search warrant |
Thermometer |
| Sexually molested |
amnesia |
| Slander |
kidney problems |
| State’s evidence |
Mr. Conley |
| Subpoena |
movie ticket |
| Sue |
make a movie |
| Serena Hunt |
Mrs. Bragg, Mr. Bold |
| Subpoena records |
balcony movie ticket |
| Soliciting clients |
invite to the picknic [picnic] |
| State bar |
Dr. Fox, Mrs. Forrester |
| Seel [Sell] |
take blood samples, talk to Edna |
| Guyana PT Corp. |
Mrs. Bambas, Mrs. Bartman |
| Serve lawsuit |
made brownies/cookies for ___ |
| Be served with lawsuit |
got her library card |
| Send person over in spite of legal situation |
keep off sweets |
| U.S. Supreme Court |
Mrs. Brunner |
|
|
|
| Testify |
talk in private to _____ |
| Tax exemption |
paramedic classes, history lessons |
| Trial |
dialysis, angiograms |
| Truth Enterprises [a PT corporation] |
Mr. Finn, Mr. Budiman |
|
|
|
| Valley Enterprises [a PT corporation] |
Mrs. Flynnstone |
| Valley Publishing |
Mr. Cardinal |
| Visitation rights |
keeps regular exercise |
|
|
|
| Welfare dept. |
Mr. Fabian, Mrs. Capoville |
| Witness |
neighbor, Mrs. Chadwick |
| Writ of mandate |
Mr. Fernwood’s report |
| Take under submission |
Mrs. Buckner is checking it over |
|
|
|
| More: |
|
| Freedom of Information Acts |
ask Mrs. Cheney about it |
| Power of attorney |
Mr. Conklin’s birthday |
| Bring back the children (talking about it) |
made communion on Sunday |
| Social Security |
Mrs. Connell, Mr. Arnstein |
| Customs |
Mrs. Augustine, Mr. Becknell |
| Phone patch |
send some good reading material |
|
|
|
| Organizational problems |
|
| _____ has run away |
getting married |
| _____ has quit |
reading English lit. |
| _____ has died |
saw Fraser |
| _____ has been talk[ed] to by TOS eats too much |
eats too much |
| _____ is paranoid |
gets regular eye exams, generous |
| _____ is talking negatively |
taking karate lessons |
| _____ is being divisive |
likes to cook alot [a lot] |
| _____ is named as party in the lawsuit |
_____ said hi to ____ |
(system for explaining how attorney reacts to our suggestion, on a ratio basis: 8R3 says, “What were the test results?” We say, “one out of five,” or “two out of five” or “three out of five etc.”)
1 – go ahead with it, or yes, he agrees and supports it
2 – has misgivings, hesitates
3 – wait, maybe later, time is not right yet
4 – ABSOLUTELY NOT
5 – NO – – if we do it, we may lose our attorney, he is emotional
6 – Charles [Garry] resents Mark [Lane]/ Don [Freed] on this.
7 – Mark resents Charles on this.
| 24 hour standby |
tell Bogita hello |
| Things are terrible |
the toddlers went to the beach today |
| High spirits |
had punch at the party |
| Low spirits |
ran out of punch at the party |
| Tape |
has a good memory |
| Conservative |
Mrs. Carson’s friends |
| Liberals |
Mr. Beaman[’]s friends |
| Radicals |
Mrs. Donovan’s friends |
| Insurrection |
surprise party tonight |
| ____ wants to come over |
____ is thinking of going back to night classes, what do you think? |
| Hang up with sex |
always talking about lectures they have attended |
Radio … radio … radio … radio … radio usage
| Radio operations |
Mrs. Carney’s work, Brisbane |
| FCC [Federal Communications Comm.] |
Felton, Mr. McGill, Mrs. Kurklander |
| ARRL [American Radio Relay League] |
Mrs. Donohue’s house |
| Working from new list |
send me a picture of your new dog |
| Working from an old list |
I still have the picture of the dog you sent |
| Check your codes |
Exactly what time do you have, Sarah? |
| This next word should be added to the list |
Jennifer misspelled the word ____ on her spelling test today |
| This is a new name to be added |
Have you ever met _____? They are nice people |
| We are revealing too much |
I always get a cold this time of year |
| This is going to be bullshit |
Amanda told me _____, Brooks said |
| Don’t talk on this subject anymore |
I never thought it would come to this |
| We can’t discuss this on this medium |
Oh, well, Mike– Just keep us posted! |
| Marco [Medical Amateur Radio Council] |
Mrs. Elsworth |
| Dr. Walt |
Mr. Colburn |
| Danger of losing license |
Mrs. Dreyer will probably stop by soon |
| Stop using codes to move frequencies |
Sarah ought to write more letters |
| Problems with monitors on this end |
By the way, Mike, have you ever met (Vivian) my cousin? |
| Warning Citation: FCC |
Mrs. Ford called today, she asked about your family |
| [Warning Citation:] ARRL |
Mr. Butler stopped by my job today |
| Called to answer questions to FCC |
I can never find enough time to jog |
| Station license suspended |
Sometimes I do take in a movie when I can |
| Revoked |
I really like to roller skate in the park tho [though] |
| This is not a code |
We had a few sprinkles today, but not enough to help out in the garden |
| Exact opposite of what I say |
I hope it rains sometime soon, I want to go fishing. Mr. Copeland, Mrs. Drefiuss |
|
|
|
| Numbers: |
|
| [$]10 |
Mrs. Dupree |
| [$]100 |
Mr. Royce |
| [$]1000 |
Mrs. Fazio |
| [$]10,000 |
Mr. Babbitt |
| [$]1 million |
Mrs. Kristenson |
| PR People |
|
|
|
|
| Agnos, Art |
Dr. Toban |
| Alexander, Kendra (Nor. Cal. CP) |
Mrs. Vallier |
| Arras (Teresa King’s mother) |
Mrs. Webb |
|
|
|
| Baker, Margie (Board of Educ.) |
Mrs. Starks |
| Banks, Dennis |
Mrs. Vandermark |
| Battle, Will (Officers for Justice) |
Rev. Unger |
| Bradley, Tom |
Mr. Sonada |
| Brann, Joan (U.S. State Dept. reception center) |
Mrs. Winni |
| Bransford, Noel & Gladys (Holland Roberts Center) |
Mr. & Mrs. Zuger |
| Brewer, Tom (I [International] hotel active with PT at Examiner |
Mr. Wyler |
| Briggs, State Senator [John] |
Mr. Wainwright |
| Brightman, Leigh [Lehman] |
Dr. Yule |
| Brooks, State Senator |
George Simms |
| Brown, Jock |
Mr. Pipps |
| Brown, Willie |
Dr. Van Horne, Mr. Sakata |
| Burke, Yvonne B. |
Mrs. Schiller |
|
|
|
| Cavalieri,[1] Kimi (Chilean) |
Mrs. Teshima |
| Cardwell, Monty (Quaker/Council of Churches) |
Mr. Womack |
| Chandler, Marvin (Council of Churches) |
Dr. Wirth |
| Chukseev, Vitaly (TASS local) |
Dr. Wisner |
|
|
|
| Damu, Jean (Peoples World) |
Mr. Vargus |
| Davidow, Mike |
Dr. Wollett |
| Davis, Angela |
Mrs. Treadwell, Elvira |
| Davis, Gloria |
Mrs. Zarr |
| Duncan, Walter |
Mr. Woolpert |
| Duty, Mary (relative of Earnestine Glazier) |
Sister Sarah Jo |
| Dymally, Merv |
Dr. VanDamm, Camilla, Mr. Witmer, Dr. Urbina |