Eve and Festus left the Hevens Gate folks shortly before they offed
themselves. Festus is in Ithaca now, staying at the Hillside Inn last I
heard, don't know where Eve is. Although I consider Festus my friend, I
would have to question "Reaction from people who knew Ms. Ujhelyi and
Fiester in Ithaca was one of surprise at the news. Friends described them as
"intelligent and rational" people whom they would not expect to be "taken
in" easily." This was not my experiance with Mike. After he burned down his
parents house making french fries we shared a house during my saltmine
period. We also shared a cell one night, my sister bailed me out, but
wouldn't go for Festus. I remember the incident as something about a log, a
boa constrictor and my view of the consitution.
ctb raining harder going down to look at the river
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ken Follett" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, February 22, 2003 7:44 AM
Subject: Eve & Festus


> The adventures of my friends Eve & Festus. This is the last news that I
have of them. Early Heaven’s Gate.
>
> The Ithaca Journal, October 30, 1975, By Gail Dickinson
>
> Two former Ithacans have joined a group of people from Oregon who say they
are preparing to be taken to another level beyond humans by a spaceship.
>
> The whereabouts of the two is not known, but recent letters to their
families indicate they are committed to the group and its philosophy.
> On Sept. 18, Michael Fiester, 24, and Eve Ujhelyi, 21. who left Ithaca in
late 1973 for Oregon, joined the followers of a couple who claim to be "sent
from another level above that of human."
> Families of the two have received letters from both which tell of their
belief in the couple and in their claims that persons who follow them. will
be "reborn."
>
> The disappearance of about 20 Oregon residents also with an undetermined
number of Californians has been in the national news in recent weeks. There
have been reports of people giving away children and property before leaving
to join the group.
> Dan Staggs, 43, a person with whom the two Ithacans were living in
Springfield, Ore., also has joined the group. Staggs gave away his house
before leaving, according to Chris Carlson, who now lives in the home.
>
> Fiester's mother, Mrs. John Fiester of Trumansburg Road, Ithaca, said she
has written to President Ford and will write Rep. Matthew McHugh (D Ithaca)
requesting help in locating her son.
>
> She, said she and. her husband were in Florida when her son left Oregon
with the group. When they returned here last week, there were two letters
from their son, one written around Sept. 18 before he left and mailed later
by a friend, and another, postmarked Enid, Okla., and dated Oct. 12. Both
letters were shown to The Journal by Mrs. Fiester.
>
> In the first letter, Michael, known by friends to Ithaca as "Festus," said
he was going on a "quest for the truth and my real self." He said he felt
"directed to do it" and that it was his own will.
>
> In the second letter, he explained that "in essence we are all endeavoring
to be re united with our father creator." He said he was undergoing "the
preparations necessary for any human to undergo in order to attain that next
level."
> In both of the letter. Fiester stressed he is doing this of his own free
will  and denied that "hypnosis, death, murder. fraud, etc.,". is involved.'
>
> Eve Ujhelyi's father, who lives in Oregon, said in a telephone interview
he has not heard from his daughter. Her sister, Gabriel, who lives in
Atlanta, told The Journal she has received two communications. One, mailed
from Oregon, was written before the pair left with the group, and the
second, dated Oct. 7, was mailed from Yorkville, Ill.
>
> In both letters, Ms. Ujhelyi asked her sister not to worry. In one, she
said that she had "gone to see the Wizard and catch a spaceship."
> It is not known if Ms. Ujhelyi and Fiester are still together. They told
Ms. Carlson before they left that they expected to be separated, and in one
of the letters to her sister, Ms. Ujhelyi said that "Festus is 'gone,' too."
>
> Staggs is apparently no longer with the group, Ms. Carlson said. A recent
letter, without postmark or date, has been received from him saying that he
had "disassociated" himself from any group.
>
> Ms. Carlson said that the three were very optimistic before they left. She
stressed that they were "very capable people ... who knew what they were
doing." She said she now regrets not having gone to the Oregon meetings to
join the group.
> "They have been pretty much exposed to the world," she said. "They knew
what was real and what wasn't." She said she is not worried about the trio
because "these people know when to bail out "
>
> She said she would like to give the pair, "a lot of positive
encouragement."
>
> Fiester, Ms. Ujhelyi and Staggs attended three meetings over a two week
period before they left on Sept. 18, Ms. Carlson said. She felt that in
leaving, and limiting communication, the three were "demanding privacy to do
what they want to do with their lives."
>
> Before they left, Ms. Carlson said, they were upset at the criticism by
their friends, who thought the whole thing was a hoax. The three people were
"totally committed," she said, "and were hoping that their friends would
understand."
>
> Reaction from people who knew Ms. Ujhelyi and Fiester in Ithaca was one of
surprise at the news. Friends described them as "intelligent and rational"
people whom they would not expect to be "taken in" easily.
>
> Ms. Ujhelyi's family was not religious, according to her sister Gabriel.
Fiester, according to his mother, was raised to be religious, although he
had not practiced any religion for several years. Mrs. Fiester said her son
may be "trying to find something." She also said that she believed her son
might be "brainwashed."
>
> Besides the letters to Ford and McHugh, Mr. Fiester has gone to see
District Attorney Joseph Joch, but Joch was unavailable this morning for
comment.
>
> Literature from the group, called by some the "Human Individual
Metamorphosis" society, claims the group is not a religious, spiritual or
philosophical organization. It claims it is "reality."
>
> Fiester said in one letter that news accounts of the group are "faulty."
>
> The two leaders of the group will be assassinated soon, the literature
says, and will return after three days, when their followers will leave in a
"space ship."
>
> The two leaders, identified by police as Marshall Herff Applewhite, 43,
and Bonnie Lee Trousdale Nettles, 48, both have criminal records. Applewhite
spent four months in jail in St. Louis for car theft, and Miss Nettles was
charged in Houston on credit card abuse. No record of the disposition of her
case exists.
>
> The whereabouts of the almost 90 disciples supposed to be with the couple
is not known.
>
> Two lecturers are scheduled to hold a meeting tonight in Oakland , Calif.,
according to the Portland Oregonian newspaper. The meeting place, the
Upstairs Art Association, said it knew nothing about the meeting, according
to the Oregonian. The association said a Halloween benefit is planned there
tonight.
>
> http://www.salon.com/march97/news/news970331.html
> http://gaytoday.badpuppy.com/garchive/events/03317eva.htm
> XXX
>
> ][<en
>
> --
> To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the
> uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to:
> <http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html>

--
To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the
uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to:
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