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Chapter 1: A New Life

It all sounds crazy now. At the time, my life was crazier than I recognized. I was lonely and directionless. I yearned for the secret to life; the secret to me. Tsunamis of change swept the country, even Northwestern University, where I pursued – not so much a B.A., but something more elusive. The upheavals of that time opened intriguing possibilities to the seeking heart. Civil rights marches and anti-war protests offered purpose. Timothy Leary held… Read More »Chapter 1: A New Life

Chapter 2: Learning To Live

On Sunday I was baptized. On Monday I simply stayed at the Ranch, returning to my tiny house only to collect what few belongings seemed worth holding onto. From a solitary life, I landed abruptly in a communal existence: seldom alone, with rules and expectations that chafed. Three couples were in a leadership role – Weldon and Barbara, with their two children – a girl of perhaps seven and a… Read More »Chapter 2: Learning To Live

Chapter 3: Away from Home

I now lived with Celine and her husband Ben and their three children. Penny, the youngest, would be my responsibility. When we discussed pay, I said I was thinking about $10 (a week), and Celine said she had been thinking the same amount – per month! After the first dinner of canned tomato soup and crackers, I began picking edible greens in the nearby forest for a salad, making a… Read More »Chapter 3: Away from Home

Chapter 4: Road Trip

For days we all helped – or watched in fascination – as John made final tweaks to the old bus in preparation for our trip. Finally the day came. We packed up the bus and piled in. John mostly drove while the rest of us lounged on pillows or peered out the windows. Our first visit would be to Isla Vista, close to Santa Barbara – maybe a twelve-hour drive… Read More »Chapter 4: Road Trip

Cathy’s Story

Based on interviews conducted on March 8 and March 10, 2020, in Santa Barbara, California: I was living in Florida, raised in Florida. When I was 15-1/2 years old, I was a little hippie chick wanting to go in that direction. I saw myself living in a hippie commune some day. My Dad would ask me, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” I would say, “I… Read More »Cathy’s Story

Paul’s Story

Based on an interview conducted on March 8, 2020, in Santa Barbara, California: My dad was in the Army, so we moved around quite a bit. And we ended up in Northridge, California. And from there I went to UCSB in 1965 for college. I decided on UCSB because it was a beautiful  campus, a party school, and plenty of surf.  And my brother was also going there, so I could use… Read More »Paul’s Story

Lynn’s Story

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Based on an interview conducted on March 9, 2020, in Santa Barbara, California: My name is Lynn and I was raised in St. Petersburg, Florida. There, my sister, Cathy , and I shared our church upbringing, but took different paths once we moved to Santa Barbara.  We went to church with my mom when children, so had a Bible teaching background. When I was age fourteen, my sister and her… Read More »Lynn’s Story

Nancy’s Story

A testimony written on 3/14/20: While I know Jesus came into my heart when I was 4 or 5, when led by a parent at bedtime I asked Him to, in college I “wandered away” and was into some kind of pantheism. All that changed in the space of a few weeks in which God pursued me very explicitly and directly through the Holy Spirit as well as through several people.… Read More »Nancy’s Story

Bob’s Story

Based on an interview conducted March 10, 2020 in Santa Barbara, California: I was baptized in the Methodist Church when I was a baby. I went to church pretty much every Sunday, because that’s what my parents made me do. When I went to college, I started having severe depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. So in my junior year in college, I met this girl who was in Campus Crusade for… Read More »Bob’s Story

Chapter 5: Church Life

For me, life in Isla Vista whirled with new experiences and sensations. It all came in a rush, at once heady and disturbing and transcendent. The brothers and sisters displayed a love for the Lord that was beautiful to me. They treated one another, and me, as family. From Gene’s messages, from the Scriptures, from the lives of saints around me, I was learning more about the Lord each day.… Read More »Chapter 5: Church Life