Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Land of The Free

I finished all the machine applique and got this assembled!! Woo-Hoo! Although now that the top is together I'm not quite sure I'm done with it. I'd like to add another striped border and maybe a wider border so it can be a bed topper. I have plenty of Americana wall hangings. I'll have to mull it over a bit.

Sunday, my hubby and I were invited for dinner and a tour of a family camp. Visiting brought this story to my mind so I thought I'd share it. It is how I remember it, so all the facts may not be completely accurate. You can easily do a google search to get more info if you wish.

Once upon a time there was a sleepy little town in the middle of nowhere,



in the middle of Oregon. This town was called Antelope. The good folk who lived there and in the surrounding area went to church, helped their neighbors and were good God fearing people. My husband's great grandfather was a sheriff in the town of Antelope and is buried there in the unkempt cemetery.


Around 1980 a guru and his right hand lady from India found out about a very large property for sale outside of Antelope and thought it would be a perfect place to set up utopia.


They did a lot of work on the property, built lots of buildings, made an extensive watering system for their fields, orchards, fruits, vegetables, and greenhouses.
Many followers came and thought they really had joined the perfect utopia. Then greed set in and when they couldn't get all the permits they wanted they decided to take over the town of Antelope and change the rules to suit them. Many people of the sleepy town of Antelope did not want to stay in the town that changed it's name to Rajneeshpurim and they didn't want their children attending school after the commune members voted their way into the the school board.
The commune wasn't enough so they literally took over the town.

Then that wasn't enough, because the voting power was in another larger town called The Dalles. So they sent buses out across the Northwest to pick up homeless people and offer them food, clothes, utopia, as long as they cast a vote. The commune at it's largest boasted 5,000 people.

They worried as they were investigated for immigration and tax fraud. Armed men stood at checkpoints, they started setting up elaborate wire tapping schemes of Oregon politicians, and even went as far to spray salmonella on a salad bar, making 750 people sick trying to keep them away from the polls!


It was an evil and dark time.
The guru and his right hand woman were eventually arrested. She spent some time in a federal prison, but is living in Switzerland now. He was deported and died about 5 years later.

I love stories that have happy endings and where good triumphs over evil. The former commune is now a massive camp for kids and non-profit organizations. Thanks to a generous donor of property and finances Young Life now owns this ranch. Millions of dollars have been saved from having to build everything from scratch. Remodeling, re-piping and generally updating was in order after being neglected for about 15 years. But the bones were there and the camp is a fantastic ministry.

And the nearby town of Antelope went back to being a sleepy little town, who helped their neighbors and were good God fearing people.

The end.

42 comments:

  1. that was a good story! Love those happy endings.

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  2. Love the Land of the Free!! I have 4 blocks done on it, want to get at least the top done while my husband is deployed in Afghanistan!
    The story is really interesting, isn't it? What is the take away from something like that? No such thing as heaven on earth ('cept maybe in a sewing room by myself where I can't corrupt anyone else! :-D), greed ruins the best of intentions, being sleepy doesn't keep interlopers from trying to take over... Lots of good stuff there! Glad it ended well!!
    Blessings,
    Mary Lou

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  3. Your Land of the Free quilt is lovely! I can picture it with a couple borders. That's a scary story - I'm glad it has a happy ending!!

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  4. I really enjoyed your story, and it is very heartwarming to see that all turned out well. I don't know where Antelope is but my sister lives in Waldport so Oregon and all that it entails plays a part in my life. Thanks for giving us a positive history lesson.

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  5. I remember when all that happened but I never knew "the rest of the story", as Paul Harvey would say. I remember thinking at the time how awful for the people of Antelope to be overtaken like that. I'm so glad they got their town back and now have a wonderful camp for kids!
    Love your quilt and the applique is absolutely wonderful!

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  6. I'm still shaking my head in disbelief after reading your story. But truth is stranger than fiction, and it does have a happy ending.
    You're a good story teller, Ms. Lori.

    The quilt top is a beauty!

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  7. I love your quilt. I remember reading that story in the newspapers. Very scarey. So grateful for happy endings. And it makes your quilt mean even more.

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  8. Your quilt is great.
    Loved the story, good triumphs over bad. PTL

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  9. First of all, your quilt is terrific! Love it for sure...
    Wow, some nutty people are around, I appreciate hearing that story, and that the town of Antelope is a sleepy, rural town once more.

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  10. oh I love stories and endings like that happily ever after

    oh my the quilt is just beautiful
    I am so happy that you continued to work on it and its finsihed.
    you haven't talked about it in a while
    I just love it.
    Kathie

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  11. I love your quilt..I hope you make it bed sized..because I want to see it with borders. ;)
    What an interesting story about Antelope. It's good to know the commune has been changed into something positive and I hope steps have been taken to prevent such a thing from ever happening again?

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  12. Great quilt, you've got a beauty with this one. I know all about Antelope and The Big Muddy as the ranch was originally called. Jane Kirkpatrick has written a fabulous book about the ranch and its eveolution from sheep farm to commune to church camp. http://www.jkbooks.com/Books/ALandOfShelteredPromise.html It's an amazing place with such unique history. The baugwan(sp?) even had his own currency printed!

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  13. Lori, thank you for sharing the story and the quilt top. Fabulous.

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  14. Enjoyed your sharing today...love that quilt top! Fantastic...just look at all that applique! Job well done you!

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  15. What a wonderful story, thanks for sharing it. l love your quilt. l too vote for the extra borders.

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  16. Seems like I remember that from years ago--glad it had a happy ending. And what a COOL picture of your DH's granddad!

    And your quilt is AWESOME!

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  17. A good story but there are also many lessons within it.

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  18. Your Land of the Free is spectacular! That was quite a story!

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  19. I could listen to stories like these forever. Thanks for sharing, Lori.

    Love your quilt too. BTW, I finished doing "my thing" on your WCRR pincushion. Woo hoo!

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  20. Land of the Free is looking mighty good. It will be another Americana quilt for your collection.

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  21. I LOVE your Land of the Free top...that is AMAZING!

    In stitches,
    Teresa :o)

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  22. Loved reading the story, especially the ending and so fitting with your gorgeous quilt. I love the stripe in it and I'm all for it being repeated.

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  23. I am such a sucker for Americana quilts - yours is such a beauty!

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  24. Your work on the quilt top is beautiful!!

    Great story. I love how children are benefiting that camp.

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  25. Wow, that was quite a story!
    I love the quilt and I think it would be great to make it bigger too! But I can't decide it for you, can I?

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  26. your quilt is amazing and i LOVE that ship block in the lower right hand corner~!!~

    :-)
    libbyQ

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  27. What an incredible story - I loved it. I can't believe I haven't seen this on PBS or something - so interesting.
    Your new quilt top is absolutely wonderful. I love the center and all the surrounding blocks.
    You've inspired me so much, I'm getting my fat &^^* off the computer and going to sew :)

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  28. I have the Land of the Free pattern and its on my long to do list. So happy to see yours put together - it looks great! Thanks for the story with the happy ending!

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  29. Lovely quilt, but what a story. I suppose that's what happens when you close yourself off from alternative thoughts and start to believe your way is the only way. A good ending though.

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  30. The quilt is wonderful, Lori! I really like the ship block and the pineapple a lot. The striped binding looks great.

    Thanks for sharing that story. I think I vaguely remember that weird tale. Glad Antelope benefitted in the end!

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  31. Your American quilt is wonderful! I think you need to keep going and make it bigger. It is a winner!

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  32. Wow...Your quilt is something to REALLY be proud of!

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  33. The quilt is wonderful, and another striped border will be perfect.

    I also enjoyed reading the story of Antelope. What a weird experience for the original residents -- I'm so glad it had a happy ending.

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  34. Can't beat the Land of the Free! Great story Lori.
    And your quilt, I love it. It's just beautiful.

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  35. Your "Land of the Free" is wonderful! I enjoyed the story of Antelope - I am glad there is a happy ending!

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  36. Fascinating and terrific story - thank you for sharing. And your Land of the Free quilt is fabulous...love all your color choices and use of the striped fabric.

    Pat, camped in Valdez, AK - waiting for the Valdez Quilt Festival to start later this week.

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  37. Love the story, Lori. And the quilt is gorgeous...

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  39. Very interesting and amusing story and your quilt top is great...good job!

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