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[Editor’s note: The numerous typographical errors in these meeting notes have been corrected.]
Deborah Touchette
May 1978
Wesley Curtain
Raul Blackman
w/ Mr. & Mrs. [John and Barbara] Moore
Deb T.
Terri [Carter] Jones
Tim Jones
– Wesley Curtain’s father writes for
– They came over to the house unexpectedly and I invited them upstairs because the Moores had gone out to dinner, but when we got upstairs they had come back and were sitting in the living room
– shortly after introductions they started asking a lot of pointed questions
– Raul asked how long were you in Jonestown?
– Mrs. Moore began by telling them of the beauty she had seen there.
– You’ve got them well programmed, Debbie, Raul said to me.
– I don’t know what you’re talking about I said, I haven’t programmed anybody, she’s speaking from but she has experienced.
– She agreed that she was speaking for herself.
– I will have to admit that I came with a lot of skepticism, Mrs. Moore said, of course I am a mother hen by nature, I like to have my children under my wing, but Mr. Moore is always telling me that I have to let go of my children sometime, and what’s important is their happiness.
– One of them asked if they were happy?
– She said yes, she would have to say that her daughters were very happy.
– Mrs. Moore went through every step of the farm, describing it in glowing terms, at times she had to shout to talk over the constant questions thrown at her by the two of them.
– At one point she got on her knees and came right up close to their faces so she could get her point in.
– Mr. Moore also spoke of the happiness of their children and said he had a lot of respect for Cde. Jim Jones and what he is trying to do. He said although we don’t always agree with every thing what he is doing is along the line of the way we brought our children up.
– What don’t you agree on? They asked?
– Well, he said he felt Jim was too (optimistic… He used another word that had that meaning), and although the Lutheran [Methodist] church in the US was more liberal than most churches, being that PT is a different denomination, we worship a little differently, but other than that we basically have the same beliefs.
– Wesley or Raul asked if people could travel into Georgetown whenever they wanted to, let’s say they got tired and wanted to take a vacation.
– I told him Yes within reason, but that we knew when we came to Guyana the type of work and lifestyle we had to lead to develop a model community, and people can’t just travel back and forth all the time or production would go down
– Mr. Moore spoke up and said they had to have some form of discipline in that respect, that’s why they built the community that they have.
– after a series of cannonball questions and raised voices, Wesley said he appreciated speaking to the Moores, he hoped they didn’t think the two of them were rude, but they just wanted to ask a lot of questions because there was still an empty space or a blank
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spot in terms of the PT. They said they wanted to go up there some time and see for their selves what is going on.
– I told him I was surprised for the whole of the evening because I thought we had gotten past that stage in the development of our friendship and I was surprised to hear him saying that.
– (Note this was just after Olga [code name for Debbie Blakey] left, and Wesley came to our home several times in the day and night, as well as called to locate Debbie, he said she had tried to get in contact with him and his father answered the phone, it was in the middle of the night)
– Terri agreed, she said that I had introduced her to them as friends and we don’t say that about people easily
– Wesley made a remark that Karen had said she didn’t trust the press
– Mr. Moore said that was understandable and that we had received so much bad treatment by the press, naturally we would be suspicious of the press.
– I told Raul that they both should come in to J/town some time and see firsthand what’s going on. That would alleviate some of the questions they are always asking, and they would have a better understanding.
– Raul & Wesley said you people have done a lot for the image of Peoples Temple in our minds.
– The next morning as we were saying goodbye to Mr. & Mrs. Moore, she turned to me and said, you know, I’m glad those two young men came by last night. They made me realize how much I needed to come to Guyana.
– I think we convinced them, don’t you?
– I told her I did, at least I hoped we did.
– During the course of the conversation the previous evening, she told both of them, that if they go, it shouldn’t be for just one day, it should be for a weekend at least. She said it took one whole day just to see the piggery…
– Tim suggested that since they were always looking for a story, this would make a good story and
– Wesley said this was the type of thing we should do on our radio program, It would help our image immensely.
– Mrs. Moore said I can just see you will be quoted as saying something and it will be taken out of context [handwritten addition: “(to Mr. Moore)”]
– I forgot to mention that Mr. Moore had said that he felt our cooperative could be a model for the Third World, and that perhaps the Marxist-Leninist theory could work for Third World countries…