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A Brief History Trustees’ Report During the past eighteen months many
changes have taken place in Stelle. The sequence of events leading up to
these changes is so complex that we have found it difficult to summarize all that
has transpired. It is primarily because of this difficulty that we have not
publicized the matters discussed in this article, yet we feel a certain
obligation to the many persons interested in Stelle, and we wish to provide a
basic outline of the events of the recent past. References to communications
from the Brotherhoods to Richard Kieninger are as reported by Richard; the
following presentation is simply our best understanding of the situation, and
it is only in retrospect that the events outlined take on an order which was
not readily visible at the time they occurred. It is our view that the changes that
have occurred during the past eighteen months were necessary to the
development of self-reliance on the part of the citizens of the Stelle community.
We have learned to make our own decisions relative to community affairs, and
we have begun to develop a system of government that we believe will allow
for the rapid expansion of the community of Stelle from this time forward. It
has been a difficult period for all who have lived through it, and the
considerable tension that developed within The Stelle Group was a severe test
of our desire to promote peace and brotherhood in the course of our daily
lives. Yet out of these difficulties has come a deep respect for the system
of government that most of us take for granted in the United States of
America, and we look forward to the fulfillment of Stelle’s purpose in the
Great Plan of the Brother-hoods during the years to come. On April 1, 1974, at the Founding Day
Ball of The Stelle Group, Richard Kieninger stepped down as president of
Stelle Industries, Inc. and The Stelle Group. Richard stated at the time that
he would be leaving Stelle for an indefinite period, and he delegated his
responsibility as president of both The Stelle Group and Stelle Industries,
Inc. to James E. Howery. Richard named Gail Kieninger to carry on the work of
admissions in The Stelle Group, and he stated that he himself would be doing
other work for the Brotherhoods. This change affected all of us very
deeply, but life in Stelle continued and The Stelle Group grew. One of the
chief results of Richard’s leaving was that many participants felt they had
each assumed a portion of the responsibility that had been Richard’s prior to
his departure. Jim Howery and Gail Kieninger shouldered a large part of his
responsibility, and they worked diligently to insure that the transition was
a smooth one. It became apparent that the survival of The Stelle Group did
not depend on Richard Kieninger’s presence. Late in April, 1974, Richard was
instructed by the Brotherhoods that he was still responsible for Stelle and
that he could return to assist the new officers if he so chose. Upon his
return in May, however, Richard was enjoined by the trustees from having any
contact with all but two members of The Stelle Group and his family. The
trustees’ communications with Richard during the previous months had caused
them to believe that he was not being true to the Brotherhoods’ philosophy.
Seeing no way to become effective in the affairs of the group under those
conditions, Richard traveled to the western part of the United States to
attend to other business. On August 9, 1974, John, one of the contacts from
the Brotherhoods who spoke to Richard in The Ultimate Frontier, told Richard
it was imperative that he return to Stelle because of disturbing trends in
the direction the Group was taking. He was charged with helping the people of
Stelle come to govern their own affairs more in accord with the ideals in The
Ultimate Frontier. On September 28, 1 974, Richard appeared unannounced at a
monthly meeting of Stelle Group members to protest the restrictions imposed
on him by the trustees and to suggest several changes in the functioning of
The Stelle Group. Whereas in previous years Richard had insisted that the
Group follow directives issued by himself and the trustees, at the meeting he
stated that the Group needed to develop methods for more “grass roots”
participation in the decision-making process, and he recommended the
formation of a rudimentary judicial system. The trustees agreed to Richard’s return
to Stelle on November 1, 1974. He continued to voice his opinion that more
democratic forms of government needed to be developed in Stelle, and his
criticism of the trustees manner of conducting business eventually led to a
complete breakdown of communication between Richard and the trustees of The
Stelle Group. On March 13, 1975, Richard was informed by the Brotherhoods
that through their “totalitarian oppressiveness” the trustees had separated
themselves and Stelle from the Brotherhoods, who had championed and founded
self-ruling governments through centuries of careful development of Western
Civilization and the United States. Richard was instructed to “begin to
actively pursue exposure of the trustees and their removal from office.”
(This communication was not generally made known to The Stelle Group until
several months later.) On March 15, 1975, Richard spoke to the
assembled participants of The Stelle Group at a general meeting and explained
that he felt the trustees had placed too much emphasis on the practical
aspect of Egoic advancement and had exceeded their authority in leading The
Stelle Group in a direction that was not in accord with the Brotherhoods’
philosophy. The disagreements between Richard and the trustees caused a great
deal of concern on the part of all participants of The Stelle Group. Finally
Richard asked that the trustees resign. The meeting ended with no resolution
of the differences. On April 12, 1975, the trustees expelled
Richard Kieninger from membership in The Stelle Group. Richard appealed this
decision, and, as stipulated in the by-laws of The Stelle Group, his case was
heard before a panel of seven members on April 19, 1975. Based on testimony
by members of The Stelle Group, this panel voted to sustain the expulsion
initiated by the trustees. During this series of events, a growing
number of participants became dissatisfied with the administration of the
affairs of The Stelle Group. A petition was circulated late in March asking
for an early election of the board of trustees, and this petition was signed
by a majority of the full members. The Stelle Group seemed to polarize around
two basic viewpoints: one faction supported the trustees in their
interpretation that their having acquired responsibility/authority from the
Brotherhoods via Richard did not obligate them to consult the people of
Stelle in deciding matters affecting the lives of individual members; the
other faction supported democratic structuring of the governmental system in
Stelle and felt that all matters affecting the lives of individual members
should be voted on through the democratic process of referendum as
recommended by Dr. White in The Ultimate Frontier. The disagreement and
resultant tension between these two factions became so intense that some
individuals refused to actively support either faction. On another level, these matters of
principle also came to be mixed by some people with loyalty to Gail on the
one hand or to Richard on the other. Through a series of open letters,
Richard had informed the Group of marital difficulties between himself and
Gail, and this aspect of their personal lives was further surfaced in a
public reading within Stelle of the transcript of Richard’s expulsion
hearing. Thus personal loyalty began to play a part in the individual process
of deciding which viewpoint to support. In May, 1975, 22 members of The Stelle
Group called a special meeting of the membership in accord with the Illinois
statutes governing not-for-profit religious organizations. This meeting was
to occur on May 24, 1975, and was for the purpose of adopting an amendment to
the by-laws of The Stelle Group defining a referendum procedure. In response,
the trustees of The Stelle Group called a meeting to occur on May 17, 1975,
one week prior to the May 24 meeting, for the purpose of adopting an
amendment to the by-laws that outlined a procedure for petition and criticism
and required a two-thirds majority for passage of any subsequent by-law
amendments. Since a two-thirds majority is very difficult to achieve on any
issue, the passage of the trustees’ by-law amendment proposal would probably
have prevented the passage of the referendum procedure to be voted on at the
meeting of the following week. After lengthy discussion at the meeting
on May 17, 1975, the membership decided to appoint a panel composed of twelve
persons to formulate an amendment that would meet the approval of both
factions. Four persons were selected from among the 22 members who had called
the May 24 meeting, four persons were selected from among the general
membership, and the four trustees formed the balance of the committee. This
committee met approximately two times per week for the next five weeks. After five weeks of discussion, the four
representatives of those who favored referendum came to the conclusion that a
stalemate had been reached; so on June 22, 1975, they decided to move
independently to hold a special meeting of The Stelle Group on June 27, 1975.
Forty-five members of The Stelle Group signed the call for a special meeting
to discuss and vote on a by-law amendment that defined a referendum
procedure. At that meeting on June 27, the trustees
objected to the legality of the meeting and walked out, as did a number of
other members. Legal counsel advised that the meeting was legal, and a quorum
of the voting membership remained to vote on the by-law amendment proposal.
The amendment to the by-laws of The Stelle Group received a majority vote,
and its official distribution to the membership was requested. The trustees refused to recognize the
legality of the meeting or the majority vote of the membership relative to
the by-law amendment. In addition, many of the individuals who had supported
referendum became the brunt of reprisals on the part of the trustees. These
actions coupled with a growing tension within the group precipitated a call
for a special meeting to remove the trustees of The Stelle Group from office.
The call for this meeting was supported by 81 members of The Stelle Group. The meeting to remove the trustees from
office was held on August 12, 1975. At the start of the meeting each of the
trustees announced his resignation. Then the membership elected five new
trustees: Malcolm Carnahan, president (member
seven years), Walter Cox, vice president (member five years), Jeanette
Williams, secretary (member eight years), John Alexander (member four years),
and Kurt Raillard (member six years). These individuals are the present
trustees of The Stelle Group. During the course of the next several
weeks, the former trustees and their supporters resigned from most of their
positions. Some of these persons have since chosen to relocate in other areas,
although most retain their membership in The Stelle Group. During this
period, progress has been made in several areas: an admissions committee has
been formed to decide on the acceptability of applicants for membership, an
enrichment program has been included in the curriculum of the Stelle School,
and the expansion and reorganization of Stelle Industries, Inc. has begun. We
will keep everyone posted through continuing articles in the Sidle Letter as
new developments occur in the life of the community. The basic purpose of the community of
Stelle remains the same-to gather together those persons who are desirous of
creating a positive environment for individual Egoic growth within the
framework of the Brotherhoods’ philosophy; Stelle is the precursor to the
Nation of God. Although Richard Kieninger, the author of The Ultimate
Frontier and founder of The Stelle Group, does not reside in Stelle, he stays
in contact with the group through open letters to the membership and
occasional communication with the present trustees. In this manner the link
between The Stelle Group and the Brotherhoods is maintained. Richard has
stated that he feels The Stelle Group is once again evolving in a direction
that is in harmony with the Brotherhoods’ philosophy, and we look forward to
the rapid growth of the Stelle community in the immediate future. We realize that it may come as a
disappointment to many people that Stelle must find solutions to many of the
same problems that are evident in the world at large, but Stelle is not and
was never intended to be a Utopia. Stelle is an active, vital community . . .
a social workshop of the most meaningful kind. Our immediate task as
individuals is to learn to become Citizens of the Nation of God, and we feel
the membership of The Stelle Group has taken the first step in the direction
of self-government through the assumption of responsibility for community
decision-making. The Board of Trustees of The Stelle
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