Manson Tour 2015: Goler Wash

We were joined for the trip by a legend, Emmett C. Harder. He's the mining prospector that befriended the Family surrounding the times they frequented Barker Ranch. He is still quite energetic and full of spirit. When we took this pic we were at Newman Cabin in Goler Wash. As this particular story went, he - with the use of a shotgun -  and a mining partner had captured a desert thief who had been burglarizing Goler Wash mining camps. The capture took place here at Newman.

Newman Cabin

Emmett Harder is about 82 years old now but as sharp as a tack.  He drove the entire way up Goler Wash with ease, talking the whole time about various people who had mined or been an accessory to the process.  It seemed as if there wasn't anything he didn't know about the goings on in the area.

As we left the store at Ballarat the first bit of local color he told us about was Post Office Springs.  Post Office Springs was a tree in a wide spot in the road where people would leave messages for each other, having no other way to communicate.  Even today there is no way to contact one another within the area because there is no cell service, no landlines, no electricity. It is just the same way it was 45 years ago and the decades before.

On the way to the road up to Goler Wash we learned a little about the mining process, which we won't get into except to say there is an active mining operation going on now which was to our benefit because the roads had been graded for the truck traffic to the site where the leeching process was taking place. The road to the wash was in great shape with no washboard effect.

We finally began the assent to Barker. The wash "road" had recently been fixed up, none of the waterfalls which usually pose the biggest challenge to the trip up the wash were a problem. We never had to get out of the vehicles to move boulders.  Emmett's running commentary was priceless. We learned about the different rocks, the flora and the fauna of the area. All was interspersed by stories about the locals, aside from stories about The Family. What rugged people!

The road was narrow at times and there were many side roads, if we hadn't had a guide we could see where one could easily get lost. It's amazing that many of the Family members walked up and down the wash barefoot. And that it is so remote it's hard to imagine why they decided to hunker down there with very little in the way of resources for survival.

Very shortly after we first arrived at Barker Ranch, we heard the loud braying of a wild burro. He was standing on the opposite butte from the front of the ranch. There are two springs between Barker and Myers where they like to go for a drink. When he saw that there were about 14 humans there he attempted to intimidate the group. He stayed up there for hours.

Speaking of wild creatures, this Gopher Snake passed by near the front steps at the ranch. 

They are not dangerous to people.

Some shots of Barker Ranch

The main house

The infamous cabinet space in the bathroom where Manson 

spent his last moments as a free man in 1969.

John Aes-Nihil at the entrance to the ranch

 What's left of a mattress next to Sadie's Bunker

This is what's left of the dug-out bunker where Sadie was hiding when the raid began. 

It is of course filled in from earth that has run downhill over the decades from rain and wind.

Just slightly downhill from the bunker (maybe 8-10 feet) is the tin 

roofing that Sadie used to cover the bunker.

Here is myself and St. Circumstance on the butte opposite the ranch near the bunker. 

The burro was just uphill from us standing his ground.

From the spot by the bunker you can see Myers Ranch

George Stimson and Emmett Harder in front of the cabin beside the main house.

Above the main house, looking down at the pool

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Meyers Ranch

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Back down in Ballarat. From left to right are Deb, Emmett, Matt, Patty, George, 

Stoner, St. Circumstance (with Rocky Navak behind him) and John Aes-Nihil.

By the way, be sure to pronounce Ballarat correctly or George won't let you graduate.

Manson Tour 2015: Olancha - Karl Stubbs' Neighbor and Hannum Ranch

You may remember a post written from our phone interview a couple of years ago with "Kathleen Costello," the next door neighbor of Karl Stubbs. A review of that post will give a little background.

The murder of Mr. Stubbs happened in November of 1968. It is a killing that seemed to fit the Tex Watson pattern, but was never proven. We dropped in on Mrs. Costello. She recapped her memories from that time and we learned a little more.

This is the view of the Stubbs house from the Costello house. It's very close.

Note the small center structure. It is a pump house.

The right side of the Stubbs house. At center is the pump house. 

The white sedan driven by the young killers parked directly in front of it.

The driveway of the Costello residence looking towards the dirt road. Karl Stubbs, battered so badly that he couldn't walk and could not see because his eyes were swollen, shut crawled from his house and out to the road in front. He crawled to the horseshoe shaped Costello driveway and all the way into the residence. In trying to find the telephone he bloodied the file cabinet but was unable to find the phone. He crawled out again and out onto the dirt road, but he mistakenly took the right part of the horseshoe shaped drive. He then crawled left toward the next neighbor's property. He turned into what he thought was the next neighbor's drive but it was just the other side of the Costello's horseshoe shaped drive! At this point he didn't have the energy to go any further.

Later, Mr. Costello passed his property while hauling ore from the mine where he was employed to the mill where it would be processed. He spotted Karl and stopped to lend assistance.

Karl Stubbs passed away three days later. His murder has not been solved.

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Hannum Ranch Ruins

About a mile from the Stubbs house is Hannum Ranch. The Family, with the permission of David Hannum used the property as a storage area for supplies. It is also the ranch where Tex Watson holed-up with Dianne Lake after the TLB murders.

After: Jake's Saloon. Lone Pine, CA

The Next Morning - Mt Whitney 14,455 Ft. The highest peak in the lower 48.

The east end of the Sierras. Visible from Lone Pine, CA:

Manson Tour 2015: A Discussion With George Stimson: Part II

Filming by Stoner Van Houten

Manson Tour 2015: A Discussion With George Stimson: Part I

Filming by Stoner Van Houten

Manson Tour 2015: Earth Day at Spahn Ranch

So, what if I told you that in one day I would fly cross country from Florida, get high at Spahn Ranch with a guy named Stoner Van Houten,  go out to dinner with The Col, and then bunk for the night with George Stimson?

Would you say that was a hell of a day? Welcome to Manson Tour 2015!

Yeah, thats right- a few extras tagged along this year. I guess it is not hard to imagine the emotions, and feelings I experienced yesterday. Safe to say I went through some changes of my own for sure. Day one of the Tour was on, and with special help from the legendary Michael Channels, Pete Porteous, and the aforementioned Stoner Van Houten, We got a first class look- and first hand account- of the history of Spahn Ranch and the surrounding area.

Personally, just pulling around the final corner and seeing the sign for Santa Susana Pass road, was about when I first started worrying if anyone else could notice I was scared shitless? But Patty, Julie, and Deb were along, so I sorta had to go through with it. I was glad I did. The rattlesnakes left us alone, and we left the poison oak alone, and we all ended up friends.

Dinner with Max Frost and the Col was an amazing experience. Along with George being there, I found myself sitting between the most informed and intelligent people who are intimately involved with the case. It was - even a time for a guy like me- to just sit back with a beer and listen. Some nights should never have to end.

But it did. So we went back to the place we are sharing and I finally passed out in a loft in the room above where my new friend George was sleeping. We have different views, but we shared a great day. I know in the coming days we will talk about some of these differences. I get a rare chance to learn, and hear the thoughts from both sides in a very intimate way. Wow what a concept- People on both sides, and with different views all coming together for a single purpose. For the next week. This is my family lol

All the Very Best-

You're Favorite Saint

MARY TYLER MOORE DUPED BY SATANIC CULT (LOL)

Published on: April 8, 2015
by BOB HARTLEIN, NATIONAL ENQUIRER
Photography by: TNE

Here's a side of Mary Tyler Moore fans likely have never seen before: holding up the radical newsletter of a notorious satanic cult!

The National ENQUIRER obtained this shocking 1967 photo of the beloved star in London; Mary smiles next to a man and displays "Process Magazine," the in-house publication of The Process Church of the Final Judgment, with its swastika-styled logo on the cover.

Mary clearly doesn't know she's holding "The Sex Issue," featuring articles on "sex magick" honoring the cult's Three Great Gods: Jehovah, Satan and Lucifer!

"It's absolutely clear that poor Mary was duped into endorsing the Process Church – having no idea it was an evil cult!" a source told The ENQUIRER . "Certainly it was a coup for the church to get Mary to pose for this photo – possibly for their own recruiting purposes – because she personified the sweet girl next door in America, and the type of individual the evil cult would like to brainwash!"

As The ENQUIRER previously reported, the 78-year-old TV legend is losing her long struggle with numerous health woes and appears to be "at death's door," as one eyewitness recently suggested.

But at the time of this trip, Mary was only 31, and the Process Church was just beginning to infiltrate the U .S. with its message that Christ and Satan will reconcile at the end of the world and pass judgment on humanity.

Vincent Bugliosi – the prosecutor in the Manson Family murder trial – believes the members were a strong influence on Charles Manson. The church also attracted Hollywood stars flirting with satanism – including Sammy Davis, Jr. and sex symbol Jayne Mansfield.

Thank you, Candy and Nuts

Al Wiman Speaks

Reporter Al Wiman who found the Tate murder clothes speaks to a classroom at length about how he and his crew found the clothing and what they did when they realized what they found.  Interesting stuff!  The sound quality is very poor but listenable.  Thanks Chats.

Reporter Finds Clothing

We have always been told in newspapers, books, TV programs, movies etc. that the creepy crawlers donned all black clothing to do their deeds.  Fact is, black jeans were not all that prevalent back in those days.  This clip clearly shows that the killers were wearing blue jeans and not new dark blue ones either.  The jeans in this are faded and well worn.

Thanks again to Chatsworth Charlie!

One of Charlie's Escapades.... er Escapes!

A little trip down memory lane with Charlie!

The Kokomo Tribune October 20, 1949

 

 

I thought I was done with this post and then I found another escape, this time the escape included stealing a car, maybe two.

 

From the Terre Haute Star February 15, 1951

 

Reader Ouija Broad's review of "No Journey's End: My Tragic Romance with ex-Manson girl, Leslie Van Houten" by Peter Chiaramonte

Thanks to loyal reader Ouija Broad for offering up this review for your reading enjoyment!

This book is like rummaging around in the $1.00 bin. There's a lot of junk, but keep looking and you will find some valuables.

The good points:

* This is the most complete portrait of LVH that I have read, at least a well-rounded portrait of who she was at the time her involvement with Mr. Chiaramonte. Through her correspondence, a picture emerges of a woman who is warm, earthy, kind, and devoted to her friends and family.

* Mr. Chiaramonte makes some astute points about the how and why LVH is still incarcerated, specifically citing the politics and fiscal concerns that may keep her in jail for life.

* In “Restless Souls”, Stephen Kay is a tireless fighter of justice. In this book, he is a wormy, often confused opponent who fights dirty.

* Two letters from Charlie Manson to LVH are clear insights into the manipulative mind of CM. His letters reflect a barely literate man who is a master of manipulation and mental mind games. The most interesting part of the letters is the lack of goofy ramblings associated with “Crazy Charlie.” Here, he means business and gets right down to it.

The other side:

* This book tells us more than we ever wanted to know about Peter Chiaramonte. It should have been titled, "The Autobiography Of A Man You Have Never Heard Of, plus some stuff about Leslie Van Houten." I admit I skipped whole pages of details about Mr. Chiaramonte's life and friends.

* Mr. Chiaramonte meets LVH's family - mother Jane, father Paul, siblings Paul, Jr., David and Betsy. I wanted to hear more about them and how they feel, but Mr. Chiaramonte's speaks of them only as props to his own story.

* There is some incorrect information in the book. For example, Mr. Chiaramonte cites that he "read somewhere" that Tex Watson dropped out of high school. Not true. There is also unsubstantiated claims that he just throws out with no reference, such as citing LVH as being so smart that she is considered to be in the top 5 percent of Americans. Really? How did he come up with that?

* The writing: Mr. Chiaramonte melodramatic prose can be cloying. At best, it sounds like a school boy in love. At worst, it sounds like a Taylor Swift song.

Was the book worth the money? I think so, for the gems it does reveal about LVH. Again, though, you will have to wade through a lot of junk to get to the gems in the book.