On February 16, 1964, Jim Jones became a Disciples of Christ minister. The service of ordination was held in peoples temple. Even though he was now officially affiliated, Jones ignored the majority of requirements it took to be part of the denomination. Parts of the requirements were regular baptisms. After establishing Peoples Temple at Redwood Valley he had a swimming pool built and then the Church was built around it. He then used the swimming pool to have people baptized.
Jim Jones in Brazil
Official record of Jim Jones arriving in Sao Paulo on April 11, 1962. After a burn out and being doubtful about the future of his church, he left for Brazil with his family with the possible idea of relocating Peoples Temple there. He eventually came back to Indianapolis in December 1963. The above photo is the only confirmed photography of Jim in Brazil, dated from 1963.
Myrtle Kennedy
“In later years, Jim referred to my mother (Myrtle Kennedy) as his spiritual mother. He telephoned her regularly from California, and church members out there sent my mother tons of letters and boxes of candy. Jimmy truly loved my mother.” – Thelma Manning.
When Jim Jones was only a child he roamed the streets with his constant companion, a dog named Lady. “Jimmy was a cute little fellow. He was just an average chunky little boy with hair as black as all get out and he had the blackest eyes. Lynette and Big Jim used a lot of foul language and Little Jimmy had quite a colorful vocabulary. A lot of people teased him because he just ran the streets. The older boys would tease him and get him all mad and he had a temper. He was just a little kid all alone. He would have to do something to stand up. He wasn’t big enough to fight, so he used to cuss them out. George Robert Southworth teased Jimmy one day and Jimmy had no recourse but to call him a SOB. Well, when Jimmy came to our house, my mother made him stop that cussing. She saw to it that Jimmy Jones behaved. Jimmy was with mom every day. She rocked him, held him, loved him and told him Bible stories. He adored her.”
Staying in contact with Myrtle all of his life, Jim visited her a last time on June 20, 1976 as he rode into Lynn with 13 busloads of followers, “I’ll never forget that day. My mother died happy that she had seen that day. My mother was so proud of what she had done.” Just before leaving, Myrtle told him, “Jim, I may never see you again but I hope to see you in Heaven.” They never saw each other again as she died the next year in 1977.
Photos, from left to right : Jim Jones, Thelma Manning with her mother, Mrs. Myrtle Kennedy and a former neighbor, Mrs. Nellie Mitchell, on June 20, 1976.
Jim Jones, his son Lew, Dan Pietila, and Tom Beikman with a few birds and cat, December 1969.
The Redwood Valley Church Animal Shelter took in all kind of animals : dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, fish, chicken, geese, horses, ponies, turtles, hamsters, snakes,…
Many of the animals were either found or dropped off anonymously in front of the church or Jones’ house. Local veterinarians gave advices on how to treats the injured or ill animals. Once cured, they found them a forever home, more often than not it was church members that took them in. Jim and his family were the main carer of the pets, but often got help from the church members and the children on Sundays and during school holidays.
Peoples Temple church buildings locations, then and now
1502 N New Jersey St, Indianapolis, Indiana. It’s now the Restoration Baptist Church.
Golden Gate Bridge Suicide Prevention speech by Jim Jones
Below is an exclusive full transcript of the speech made by Jim Jones at the anti-suicide rally on the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge on May 30, 1977.
“It is entirely fitting that on Memorial Day we are here on account of the hundreds of people who are not casualties of war, but casualties of society. For, in the final analysis, we have to bear collective responsibility for those individuals who could not find a place to go with their burdens, who came to that place of total helplessness, total despondency, where they took their own lives here on this beautiful bridge, this Golden Gate bridge, a symbol of human ingenuity, technological genius but social failure.
Suicide is a symptom of an uncaring society. The suicide is a victim of conditions which we cannot tolerate, and, I guess that was a Freudian slip because I meant to say which he cannot tolerate, which overwhelm him for which there is no recourse. In his mind, the person who takes his life is a reflection on all of us. Many of the over 600 who have taken their lives here was very young. Indeed, some were teen-agers-people who had great abilities, talents, even genius, whose lives were barely begun, yet for various reasons they found themselves with no recourse, no way out of personal problems, aggravated by the terrible alienation and loneliness of a society that often seems to have no time, no desire to reach out to people who need help. We are here today to do a very small thing to prevent people from taking their lives. But beyond stopgap measures, we must as a society arrive to find a way to break out of our isolation from one another. We are too caught up in the future pursuits of wealth and selfish pleasures. We don’t recognize and identify with and care for our fellow citizens sufficiently. Today, our society is caught in the grip of superficial values-glamour, glitter, materialism, a pathological emphasis on youth, a neglect of the elderly, the handicapped. Families are being broken up under the impact of a frenzied desire for success. Violence is glorified and paraded in front of children every day on the media. Basic human values, basic decency, kindness, cooperation are less and less evident. Economic pressures and psychological pressures mount. More and more individuals feel unhappiness-and helplessness-in their acquisitiveness for pleasure and accumulation in this selfish society. They turn to artificial stimulants, they lose touch with themselves. Their problems, their insecurities mount, and become despondency. The suicides of society cause us to reflect on the terrible trend. I’m going to close that, I’m going to close it. I was thinking something of a more personal note might have had meaning. This past few days, we as a congregation of several thousand have undergone a considerable amount of pressure. It seems that there are those elements in society, very wrongfully, who want to use us as an embarrassment to this administration, and so I can greatly empathize. And there seems to be one magazine in particular pursuing that goal, even though on different times I have disagreed with with the mayor. And so this week my son said to me, “For the first time, Dad, I felt like -committing suicide.” He said, “I want to tell you what was on my mind. Maybe it might cause people to care if I jumped off the bridge while you were speaking.” We worked our way through that, but I think that perhaps we should all identify closely with that kind of personal experience, because at one time or other we have all felt the alienation and despair.
I think the despair got to me yesterday. If it hadn’t been for an academy award winning actress joining our church, not hearing me speak but feeling the warmth between all races, and all people, just that warmth touched her and caused her to say she wanted to unite, I think I would have been in a suicidal mood myself today for the perhaps the first time in my life, so I have a particular personal empathy for what we are doing here today. Thank you. ” – Jim Jones
Jim Jones house in Redwood Valley
The house is located at 7690 East Rd, Redwood Valley, CA 95470, right behind the Church (see aerial view here ) and was built in 1957. Jim moved there with his family in July 1965 after leaving Indianapolis behind. The house has 6 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Realtor.com recently updated their site with pictures from the inside and outside of the house. I also put together a side by side comparison of some pictures. As you can see, Mr. Muggs’ cage is still there!
Check out all the photo of the house as it is today :
Jim Jones arrival in Guyana
Jim Jones made his definitive move to Guyana on June 17, 1977 as stated by the document above. He arrived at the Timehri International Airport (now the Cheddi Jagan International Airport) at 11:35pm. He most probably went straight to Georgetown (47 minutes drive from the airport) where he spent the night. There’s no exact date about his move to Jonestown itself but I doubt he stayed in Georgetown for long so he probably left for Jonestown on June 18 or 19.
Marceline Jones letter to Jim Jones
Marceline Jones wrote the below letter on June 08, 1970, reflecting on her marriage with Jim as the anniversary date approaches.
June 8, 1970
Jim
As the time approaches for our 21st wedding anniversary, it seems appropriate to take inventory of our lives together. In one more year, I will have spent half my life with you. It is the only part of my life that counts. In that time I’ve known great joy and great sorrow. It has been my love for you that has tempered all things and made the good and the bad melt to compose a beautiful harmony.
This time of the year I remember, especially, the time of Stephan’s birth. It followed so appropriately the death of a child. I experienced the extremes of emotion at that time – Extreme sorrow and extreme happiness. Most important – you were there. At that time, I had some of the idealistic anticipation that is characteristic of the young. I’m different now. Now – as I live one 12 hours at a time – I take time and am able to enjoy the small things. While I count on nothing for the future, I am able to enjoy the present more and, I think, put things more in this proper perspective. If I have no future with you, I’m grateful for today. But more about the things I remember. I remember our days together before we married. The hours you sat by my bed when I had infectious mononucleosis. I remember our wedding night and the days that followed with Humphrey Houdini. Our lunches and the maple-centered peanut clusters. I remember the foreign films we saw in Bloomington, the hours we spent at the golf course studying with Shirle and how she used to warn us of any approaching snakes. And there were our visits to the church where you so courageously told them of hypocrisy. Years have gone by and I remember the hundreds of things that occurred in our struggle to help make this a better world. How much fun we’ve had. In the beginning, in your drive to make it, you drove hard. I understand. I remember clearly when you began to relax and live and be tender with me. My love for you deepened. We had trips to Chicago. It seemed then that you even enjoyed the trips. I remember eating in a certain cafeteria and how we enjoyed watching and discussing the people. How we dreamed and planned. Many of the dreams have come true. Our beautiful children were conceived in those dreams. I’ll never forget the day we landed in Mexico City and our experience there, staying in the Metropol Hotel. There we lost Stephan and it was there that baby Jim was such a hit. Then there was the day we landed in Sao Paolo, Brazil. How dejected I felt. Remember, as we were leaving the airport, we looked at each other and simultaneously started to sing the song that we heard at our wedding, “I’ll be loving you always.”
There was one milestone in our relationship that I’ve never shared with you. It happened in Rio de Janeiro – the evening I set out to meet you and got lost. I was hours late. When I arrived, you were visible shaken. Would you believe that until that moment it had never occurred to me that losing me would bother you much. You had always been so strong, self-reliant and surrounded by people willing and able to meet your needs that I never really felt that I was important. As a matter of fact, your tendency to pull or almost force others into your life indicated to me that had in some way disappointed you and had not met your need. This incident in Brazil gave me an inkling that maybe I was a little special. However, later I rationalized and decided that you were shaken then because I happened to be the only one there. I know now that you did care.
I could remember and remember. There is no end. In all my remembering, I must give most thanks to what I have learned in the past year. At times I don’t know what is best for you. But – I do know you care. Regardless of who else you might care for, I thank you for including me. I’m sorry for the times I made you feel unloved. In my frustration as I tried to measure up but never quite doing it, I thought, I struck back in unkind ways. I’m grateful for the chance to prove my love to you. Thank you for your kindness and understanding. I don’t know about tomorrow but today I give thanks for each moment I share with you.
Marcie
Jim Jones and Archie Ijames in Georgetown
Jim Jones with Archie Ijames, photo most likely taken in 1974 in Georgetown.
James Warren Jones 