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Political Timeline for The Stelle Group 1934 Howard E. Zitko
received, from his uncle, an inheritance that included several boxes of
writing. Who wrote the papers is unknown. Mr. Zitco attempted to capitalize on
his find by offering it to a publisher in 1936 September
16 As noted in The Ultimate Frontier and the Great Pyramid of Gizeh, the message
of the Fellowship was delivered by Howard Zitko to the general public in a
high school auditorium in • “Since 1936, all the Lesser Brotherhoods have come under
the direction of the oldest of the seven. The whole program of developing a
civilization worthy of the August
16 Richard was twelve years old,
he met Dr. White and was anointed as the Judge of Israel, the Builder of
Lemuria, the Harbinger of Aquarius, and the Fountainhead of Christ, and he
was commissioned to do his life’s work. • “The most ancient of the seven Lesser
Brotherhoods (Lemurian) opened its first and only school in the U.S. on
September 16, 1936. The inauguration of this school is one of the most
important signals planned by Christ and the Great White Brotherhood. On that
date was celebrated the Feast of Trumpets as the Seventh ‘Angel’ sounded the
Seventh Trumpet, thus heralding the revelation of God's mysteries to men.
That day was prophesied in the Great Pyramid of Gizeh and in the Book of
Revelation (10:7).” 1939 November
27 Richard met Berkeley and the
Council of Seven in a classroom. Richard was given his names “in blood and
pain” as a tattoo, a date marked by the Great Pyramid and signifying the end
of chaos. Richard received a Rite of Passage by 1940 Few
years The schism between Dr.
Stelle and Howard Zitko grew. Fellowship moved from 1942 Lemurian
Fellowship becomes a not-for-profit religious corp. 1945 Richard received
a great outpouring of information from Dr. White that formed the basis of The Ultimate Frontier. Richard was
also informed about the Lemurian Fellowship; "Incidentally, when you
leave your parents' home, seek the city of the ‘Violet Domes by the Sea’ and
make your home there. In the 1947 Howard
Zitko and his wife resigned from the Fellowship 1950 January
1 Richard and Dorothy were
married 1952 March
8 Dr. Stelle went through
transition 1953 June
24 Richard and Dorothy
became students of the Lemurian Fellowship 1958 December
24 Richard and Dorothy separated 1959 February
16 Richard and Gail bound their
lives in service to the Brotherhoods 1959 July Richard’s Teacher James
spends a weekend with Richard. This was the Brotherhood’s second great
outpouring of information and included instruction on matriarchal vs.
patriarchal outlooks on life as well as the problems produced by the Western
world’s practices of sexuality. 1960 December 15 The final phase of the Master Plan for
bringing the Nation of God into physical reality was set in motion. 1960 March
12 Richard and Gail married 1961 March The manuscript for The Ultimate Frontier was finished 1962 The Brotherhoods dropped their active support of
the Lemurian Fellowship 1962 February The key roles in the Brotherhoods’
table of organization for carrying out their worldwide plan were manned with
real individuals, and backups were also assigned in the event they are
needed. 1963 March
5 The Stelle Group (TSG) was
chartered in the State of 1963 December
1 The Ultimate Frontier was printed and published Marital
difficulties begin to surface between Richard and Gail 1965 December Richard and Gail’s daughter, Dawn
Celeste, is born 1966 Summer The Stelle Group formed the
Lemuria Builders Club, the forerunner for Public Meetings. The small group
met in 1968 January The Lemuria Builders edited a
small newsletter called the Lemuria Builder • The “Construction Coordinating Committee” was
set up to launch study of building techniques, the accumulation of a
technical library, and to eventually coordinate construction, once we began
to build • A “Social Contract Committee” was formed
which sought to draw up tenets of a social contract to be made between TSG
and each member • Also, the “Greens Committee” was formed to
study which plants would do well in Stelle and how to care for them, how to
landscape, etc. • The school committee
was formed under Gail’s leadership. For a year it studied various educational
methods with a view to establishing our own school for Stelle children. In
the same year a board of education was set up to see to the administration of
the school. A school newsletter was printed for several years, which shared
our experiences in the school with contributors to the school. Stelle While
the methodology began with a free-school format, it soon changed to a more
structured format with the children making out their own schedules of studies
each day and taking weekly fieldtrips to points of interest in the area.
Thus, the instruction was individualized and varied. This basic format
continued until September of 1975. The school began with five children. 1969 The members noted
that they had little practical experience in how to work cooperatively or how
to govern themselves and make joint decisions. Many discovered they didn't
like a majority deciding how they should do things whenever they happened to
fall into the minority of an issue to be voted on. Those who operated from
either Katholi or Pfree viewpoints had difficulty understanding the thinking
of the other. Richard knew that both viewpoints were legitimate when they
were equal aspects of a balanced whole and that The Stelle Group needed both
kinds of personalities to each serve as models for the other. The trustees
tended to avoid letting the group vote on key matters because of the long and
exhaustive debates, which that entailed. The trustees became more reactionary
despite Richard's insistence that self‑management builds self‑responsibility
and self‑esteem. • Richard and Gail began to split in their view
on the best ways to handle management of The Stelle Group and the mode of
instruction in the school. Her divergent views were fostered by an older
trustee, David, who endeared himself to her. They worked closely together in
the office, and David positioned himself as father to Gail's daughter during
Richard's long hours at the woodworking factory. In the following years it
became evident that David expected, in effect, to rule the group as “advisor
to the queen” after exalting Gail to the membership as the true leader. Gail
and David always voted as a bloc in the trustees' meetings. 1969 Aug
16 Members voice a desire
for Q & A meetings as a means of philosophical instruction. They met at a
meeting hall on • Stelle Woodworking
Company began. • A Stelle holiday—Remembrance Day—arose in
connection with the school. Just before their first Easter in school, the
children celebrated Passover or the Last Supper, as Christ had bid us. The
Kieningers picked up the idea and ate unleavened bread and wine that night.
From thence, it spread to other households, was formalized and thus became a
tradition in Stelle. 1970 Jan
17 First “Open House” (at
the Kieninger’s house) 1970 April
18 Lemurian Fellowship begins
selling books from channeled sources 1970 March
20 TSG purchased its first
parcel of land. It included 240 acres—about 48 city blocks—in 1970 4th quarter There are 77 members in TSG. The
public meetings were well attended with up to 200 and 300 persons present.
TSG began formal organization of this meeting. The Lemuria Builders was
discontinued as a social club and meeting point. 1971 In 1971 the
Communications Planning Committee was formed. Its purpose was to develop the
communications system for the city of 1971 February An
industry was set up called Stelle Structural Systems, Inc. It proposed to
form structural parts for building houses such as marble sink tops and
plastic brick facades. This was the second industry established by members of
TSG. The view was to produce a useful product, which would turn a profit. 1971 April A trustee resolution founded
Stelle Industries, Inc. It would serve as a parent corporation under which
further profit-making divisions would be established. 1971 October
11 Ground was broken for Factory
#1 on Oct. 11, Columbus Day, 1971. 1972 January The Lemuria Builder editorship was assumed by TSG and the name
changed to the Stelle Letter. 1972 June Things
were happening fast now in the economic picture of Stelle. An Economic
Planning Council was established to monitor the financial workings of the
group. It was to do broad economic planning, establish an accounting system,
do economic feasibility studies, authorize the transfer of monies used by TSG
each month, advise on proposed loans, and develop guidelines for manpower and
resource allocations. Board members were appointed by the trustees. • The Industrial Development
Board (IDB) was formed. to: ·
Suggest and
approve industries in Stelle and to make recommendations regarding them to
the Economic Planning Council ·
Maintain a
bureau of standards ·
Establish
quality-control standards so that the internal consumer as well as outside
commerce would always get the best in Stelle products ·
Evaluate the
feasibility and profitability of inventions and patents ·
Establish
standards of business ethics and advertising • The IDB members were also appointed by the
board of trustees. They were to work closely with the EPO and the trustees. • Stelle Construction Company founded, and work
continued on the factory. • Stelle Supply was organized to order items
and materials needed for homes and construction at a cheaper rate, charging a
12% mark-up. It orders and receives goods for those who wish to use their
services. 1972 Fall Factory completed and
Stelle Woodworking Company moved in. 1972 4th quarter Stelle Metal Products was
established. It made screws of various types. 1973 The first house
finished in Stelle—#103. 1973 April 1 Founding
Day. The Kieningers moved into their newly constructed home (House #127). The
school and office moved to Stelle site. Thus, April 1 (1973) has been
celebrated as Founding Day in Stelle. It is traditionally celebrated with a
ball and rededication ceremony in the form of a toast and words, reflecting
upon the ground we have covered during the previous year, and setting sights
on goals for the coming year. October Richard received instruction from his
Teachers, John and James, to prepare for a new assignment that was to start
within the coming year. This new job required him to move to Texas and try to
warn the businessmen and government executives of future turmoil in the
United States economy and how to keep their local economy functioning. 1973 December Stelle Molded Plastics was
establishment in the little town of 1974 1st quarter The Department of Building was set
up. It was responsible for the design and execution of buildings, bridges,
subways, water distribution, sewers, sewage treatment, roads, parking areas,
sidewalks, public lighting, culverts and storm drains, landscaping, parks,
recreational facilities, lakes, fire ponds, rivers, signs used in the
community of Stelle, the availability of electricity and other fuel systems. 1974 April 1 At
the Founding Day Ball of 1974, Richard Kieninger, offered his toast as
usual—the highlight of the evening. He dropped a bombshell, however, when he
announced that he was leaving Stelle. He stated that we were now mature
enough to handle our affairs and he alluded to Jean Dixon’s vision in which
Akhnaton fades out of the picture. When
Richard took his leave from Stelle, he recommended that Jim, who was a fellow
trustee and a member of the board of directors of Stelle Industries, become
president of both organizations. As soon as
Richard was gone, Jim dismissed the volunteers who had been manning the various
offices of the group and replaced them with paid employees who owed loyalty
to him. He quickly moved to suppress David's influence through Gail; and she,
quickly seeing where the power lay, allied herself with Jim lest she find
herself left outside. The trustees then began laying the groundwork to vilify
Richard. Detailed political timeline 1974
– 1976 1974 April
20 The first meeting report
where RK is not mentioned as president 1974 May
16 …I [Richard Kieninger] visited Stelle
and spoke with Gail about my intention to … 1974 May
17 Richard was enjoined by
the trustees from having any contact with all but two members of TSG and his
family. 1974 July Control
of leadership in the group drew stronger and stronger in the hands of fewer
and fewer people. The external discipline was ostensibly applied to supply the
perceived lack of internal discipline of the membership. • Time-tithing became a controversial issue.
Members were expected to give a full tithe of their time—sixteen hours per
week for women and twenty-six hours for men—in excess of the forty-hour work
week, so that Stelle could build a city in one generation. Normally the
building of a great city requires three generations. • Efficiency, precision, and devotion were
stressed by the leadership. The group became split: one group tended to favor
precision, efficiency, devotion, and very high quality and standards—while
the other tended to favor tolerance, charity, patience, and kindliness, and
tended not to force themselves. • Stelle Graphics, a printing company, was
established. This was the second printing company established in Stelle, the
first one being the Stelle Printing Company that was established in • Stelle Graphics, a printing company, was set
up in July of 1974. Actually, this was the second printing company
established in Stelle, the first one being the Stelle Printing Company which
existed for a while in • “Big Sky Provisioners” was established to
provide healthy foods for the residents of Stelle. It has expanded since its
inception, now providing things such as books, vitamins, and gadgets used in
food preparation, in addition to its main lines of whole grains, nuts, dried
fruits, etc. 1974 August 19 Feeling
very curtailed and seeing no way to be effective in the affairs of the group
under those conditions, Richard traveled throughout the western part of the • The Brotherhoods placed Stelle in a
“wait-and-see” status. • After Richard arrived back in Stelle, he
interviewed people who had been summarily expelled. Many members were afraid
for their membership because of oppressiveness by the trustees. • Richard presented at a general meeting of all
the members the evidence he uncovered by his investigation, and he called for
the resignation of the trustees. Gail and the other trustees countered the
next month by expelling Richard from membership on the grounds that he
undermined the rightful authority of the trustees. • In order to destroy Richard's credibility,
the trustees brought several accusations against him so that the members
would not rally around him. • Gail seized the stock certificates of Stelle Industries
and signed them over to herself to block Richard's possible influence over
that corporation. • The members became disturbed by the arbitrary
use of power by Gail, and a number of them resorted to the courts for
redress. After several legal actions, the trustees announced their
resignations in August 1975, and Gail and Jim and David, along with a fifth
of the members, moved to • Richard assigned as the first Emissary to
teach Citizenship Training. 1974 September 8 A
Message from the Judge of Israel: “No one could dictate a “norm” of
sexual activity and mores to the group. I’ve made no rules except that lovers
should not be blatant about their affaires or be careless insofar as
non-members might be antagonized.” “That
accusation may merely cover their [trustees] own reluctance to tackle the
knotty problem of sex education.” 1974 September
28 Richard appeared unannounced at a
monthly meeting of TSG to protest of all the restrictions imposed upon him by
the trustees, and to suggest several changes in the functioning of TSG. At
this meeting, the group found out that Richard must get permission from the
Trustees to speak to the group. Whereas in previous years Richard had
insisted that the group follow directives issued by himself and the trustees,
at this meeting he stated that the group needed to develop methods leading to
more grass-roots participation in the decision-making process, and he
recommended the formation of a rudimentary judicial system. 1974 November The trustees agreed to Richard’s
return. 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. 1974 November
1 Richard
returned to Stelle from Texas to stay. 1975 January
27 Richard
was barred by the Trustees from conducting Open House 1975 March
13 Richard was informed by the Brotherhoods
that TSG, through their “totalitarian oppressiveness” the trustees, had
separated themselves from the Brotherhoods who had championed and founded
self-ruling governments throughout centuries of careful development of
Western Civilization including the US. Their support of TSG was contingent
pending the change of policy and removal of the Board of Trustees. 1975 April 12 The trustees expelled Richard from membership in TSG. Richard
appealed this decision, and as stipulated in the By-laws of TSG. His case was heard before a panel
of seven members drawn by lot on April 19, 1975. Based on
testimony by members of TSG, this panel voted to sustain the expulsion initiated
by the trustees. Richard was required not to visit the site of Stelle for a
period of one year. 1975 April A Message from the Judge of
Israel: Another major
area of dispute between me and The trustees is the issue of whether
information not of immediate practical use may be taught by me or given
approval for individual investigation. 1975 April The Bee Happy Honey Company
was formed in conjunction with the agricultural program. 1975 May 12 Trustees countered with a call for a special meeting to be
held at the factory on May 17th. Their amendment proposal was designed to
make it harder for change to occur (i.e., 2/3 vote to initiate any change in
the By-laws). 1975 May
17 Special meeting of the
Trustees was held in the factory. The outcome of this meeting produced a
compromise between those who favored the Trustees’ point of view and those
who favored referendum. A By-law Amendment Committee was created, made up of
the Trustees, referendum representatives and neutral parties. 1975 May
17+ The By-law Amendment
Committee met but stalemated on important issues with the Trustees refusing
to compromise their authority. 1975 June
22 After an unsuccessful By-law Amendment Committee
meeting, the referendum proponents submitted a call for another special
meeting to be held on June 27. 1975 June
27 This was the most important
meeting for The Stelle Group in its short history. At this
special meeting, held at the 1975 July 14 Richard sues the Trustees and others for illegally
seizing control of Stelle Industries. 1975 August
12 A
petition is circulated asking for the removal of the Trustees 1975 Ultimately, the
trustees of that period resigned on August 12, 1975, leaving a vacuum in the
leadership into which came new trustees from among the membership. They were
voted into office the very night the former trustees resigned. A large exodus
occurred as Gail, her supporters, former trustees, and many of their friends
left Stelle, and moved to • This exodus was one of many, which have been
a part of the history of Stelle from its inception, something which all
idealistic groups seem to suffer from. Yet, perhaps it is as one member once
dreamed: He dreamed that saw a tree, which was Stelle, whose seeds were
scattered to all parts of the world. Perhaps the members leave us as seeds.
Some of those seeds will no doubt fall on rocky soil and die. And some will
fall on thin soil whence they will spring up and grow for a while, then
wither because they lack depth of root. But some will surely fall on fertile
soil and bear abundantly for the furtherance of the Nation of God. • This period of tension was a trying one for
all. It was a great 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 A Message from the Judge of Israel: When a
person forms the seductive conclusion that because he is trying to promote
good then anyone who opposes him is evil, be on guard! 1975 November
A Message from the Judge of Israel:
…The group’s determination that The Stelle Group shall no longer undertake
the functions of a school… November 24 Marriage, the Home and Human Sexuality “ …Richard
said he doesn’t think the group is ready for Citizenship Training, for the reasons
stated in his letter of May 31, 1974. He said he is concerned with a certain
rigidity in the group that mostly derives from hangovers from our present
civilization. He said the group seems to be very unsure as to what
constitutes loving another person—what are the bounds of that and it always
seems safer to do nothing than to do something. People are going to have to
loosen up…” December Richard returned to 1976 January John informed Richard that The Stelle Group was again
receiving active support from the Brotherhoods. John also gave
the Brotherhoods’ approbation to form another community to help Richard’s
work in 1976 May 3 The
newly elected trustees begin distancing themselves from Richard Kieninger. 1976 November Richard sued Gail for divorce, which
was granted in November 1976. The young woman who had been praised and commended
to him by John was now, seventeen years later, condemned by John for her
ambitions. It did not escape Richard that the Brotherhoods must have known
then how his relationship with Gail would eventually evolve, but he was
thankful for the mostly positive lessons he learned during their marriage. • The Stelle Credit
Union was founded as a savings-and-loan institution, run by fellow citizens.
No dividends are awarded, though low interest is charged and minimal service
charges are made. Lemurian Laws are carefully followed in our present
economic system. • As to the development
in the school since the change in administration of TSG, an educational task
force was set up some time after Stelle began its new way of life. This task
force studied various teaching methods, settled on a method with which it
wished to experiment on a primary and secondary level. New teachers were hired
and new materials and methods created. • On a pre-school level,
the Montessori Method was adopted, and for two years parents and teachers
worked at acquiring training, teaching materials, classroom space, and the
like in order to institute this method of educating young children. This
class-room training for children is in addition to work that mothers do at
home with their children. • The thing that is
probably most radically different about the present school system is the
School Council that was established under the “new Stelle,” made up of
parents and school personnel. This council is a forum for discussing matters
relating to education and school policy. It also is responsible for training
parents in their role as educators of their children. It sees to the
maintenance of the 1977 March The Stelle Cooperative Mart was
founded as our cooperative grocery store. Members make deposits against which
they may draw for food items. Alternatively, they may pay for food by check.
Cash is not handled by the Mart. • The industries have
evolved to a better way of working as teams. Both supervisory personnel and
the supervised are members of the same company, the managers being elected by
the company. Company meetings are held on a regular basis where information
is shared about the company and decisions are made together which affect the
company and its customers. • Social life in the
community has also evolved under the new system. Whereas prior to the
political changes, which took place in Stelle, we had one monthly meeting of
the entire group, which combined both a social gathering and a business
meeting. Now those two functions are separated into two differing occasions.
A Community Meeting, a sort of town hall meeting, is held the first weekend
of each month to discuss matters of business, policies, and group desires and
feelings. While a social function in the form of, say, a picnic in summer or
a formal meal in winter, is held the third weekend of each month. • We now hold an annual
open house for our neighbors in surrounding communities where refreshments
are served and tours of the grounds are given. This is in direct contrast to
a lack of communication with our neighbors, which prevailed previous to
August of 1975. We bad been asked to be somewhat reserved and aloof in our
relations with people of the area, and they resented it. The opening up of
our community to friends around us through this open house has made a great
deal of difference in their attitude towards us. • Another innovation
after Stelle’s new beginning was the group’s decision to elect an Admissions
Committee of three persons to process applications and applicants for
membership. The members of the Admissions Committee, as the board of
trustees, are elected on a revolving basis so that there are always some
members with experience in the job when a new member is elected. (Formerly
this function of processing candidates for membership had been done by
Richard, then by Richard and Gail, and then by Gail alone, after Richard’s
departure from the group.) This body is now called the Membership Committee
and has broader functions. • The group has formed
itself into small groups for intimate discussion of matters pertaining to
community life. Thus far we have discussed issues such as: What is the
essence of Stelle? On this matter we formulated a resume of the group’s
feelings, which is now in the membership manual. Human socio-sexuality in
Stelle is another matter which consumed much of our group energies for
approximately one year. 1978 May 24 A Message from the Judge of Israel:
They just didn't want to get involved … That's okay in some things. … People
said, “I don't want to know anything about government. I don't want to know
anything about economics. I don't want to get involved in it. That's what we
have experts for. We pick people who want to dig into it and we pay them and
it's their job then to come up with all the details and make the decisions.”
That's a cop out. Because there are some kinds of things like economics and
government which everybody has to really get involved in. Otherwise, they
don't understand what's happening. … 1981 Detailed political timeline
1980s 1982 March 18 Richard
was contacted in 1982 June A Message from the Judge of Israel: One of the biggest problem that The Stelle Group has had is their unwillingness to make a decision because if they make a decision it forces their friends, who happen to be on the minority side of that decision, to go along with it. That is one of the problems with democracy. Whichever way the majority decides to go that is where everybody has got to go. That is part of the rules of the game. 1982 Summer/Fall The Stelle Group officially voted to open
the community up according to John’s [Richard’s Teacher] instructions. The
Stelle Community Association was formed. September
6 A combined Stelle/Adelphi School its
began first term, with five children in 1983 January 2 A Message from the Judge of Israel: I am definitely
assured that the Emissaries, from the Brotherhoods, are still coming to
Stelle. … demonstrate that we really understand the Lemurian Philosophy and …
be able to demonstrate to the world, through our pilot community, that our
systems are valuable to anybody. … There is considerable satisfaction on my
part that we are well on the road to accomplishing that. 1983 January Adelphi Founding Day; first
formal gathering of the Stelle/Adelphi members. 1983 May Richard announced plans to
begin a Dallas-based 1986 December 16 Written communications begin to surface discussing the latest
conspiracy against The Stelle Group and Richard. 1986 December
I’m [Richard K.] writing in response to your request
to have an explanation of what has been going on between The Stelle Group and
me. The situation is both sad and ridiculous, especially since it has led the
Brotherhoods to no longer support TSG. It is difficult to compress the
problems into a meaningful historical overview since it involves many
complexities; however, I will try. 1992 January A Message from the
Judge of Israel: ... at the present
time the present residents have said, we do not want it bigger; we do not
want to encourage all these kinds of people coming with all their strange
ideas coming through here. So long as that is still the majority, it is still
not going to work. |
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