delphi oregon

[amethyst]

I was there from 77-84. The Larson/Wiggins switcharoo happened after that. I met up with Sherry Larson a few years later in Virginia. Bill Hickey was there too, but I think he's back in Portland. Whatever happened to Winton Wiggins?
I am sad to hear about Mary Jane Nosko. She was a very very nice woman.
We lived in the original trailers at the end of the promenade. We had three rooms - but shared those bathrooms with everyone. I always had trouble getting used to the unisex bathrooms at Delphi.
The ceramics teacher in 79 might have been Frank Mills
I helped to start the ESL curriculum and was Dir Acad when the first Mexican and first Japanese students arrived. I loved teaching them!
I was also a house parent to a couple of great kids who were from Mexico.
Delphi was not all bad - it was the politics and the social strata of the higher ups and the way most of the staff were often mistreated IMHO. I met a lot of great students there tho and I hope they have gone on to have wonderful lives.

 

[gantzer22]

Hi Mac,

I've been reading your posts with a lot of interest. I'm a reporter working on a story about educational programs such as the one at Delphi, Oregon, and I'm very curious to hear about the experiences of students who attended. Shoot me a note at [email protected] if you're willing to have a casual conversation--I'd love to hear more about your time there.

Thanks,
Ben

Hi Amethyst,

Yup. Attended Delphi, Oregon, 77-81, 86-89, graduated. Been to every Alumni Weekend since 93. Ok, I only made it to the gate in 2009, but, um, that's another story.

Hopefully I remember you.


Mac Stevens

 

[Gus]

Part of the time from 77-81, we lived in Sheridan with our dad. But, yeah, we were boarding, in 1West dormitory, co-ed, with curtains for doors and walls that didn't reach the ceiling .

Yeah, those open dorms were a hoot!

Gus

 

[Gus]

I was there from 77-84. The Larson/Wiggins switcharoo happened after that. I met up with Sherry Larson a few years later in Virginia. Bill Hickey was there too, but I think he's back in Portland. Whatever happened to Winton Wiggins?

Winton is a Civil Engineer with CalTrans, is married, and has a kid or two. I believe he lives is the Sacramento area, now.

I helped to start the ESL curriculum and was Dir Acad when the first Mexican and first Japanese students arrived. I loved teaching them!.

And don't forget the French class! Amethyst taught the first real foreign language class there, and probably still the best.

Gus

 

[HollywoodGuy]

I was staff at Delphi OR from 1996 to 2001.

I was probably acquainted with you then.

Jay was still there,

Jay worked at Heron, but his stepdaughter was a student at Delphi.

Rusty Gill was the art teacher - he and Paula handled the horses except for the weekends (I was one of the staff who cared for the horses on certain weekends). For the first few years I was there, there was no such thing as a day off. We all worked 7 days/week for a set salary which was way below minimum wage. Later, they were forced to pay everyone minimum wage and we got a couple of weekends off per month.

Interesting to hear a staff member's perspective.

Butch Nosko was the one who's wife died (someone referred to him early on this thread) in a car accident on the road "up the hill" to Delphi. He was the BM and remarried within a few months to the Delphi EO.

It wasn't THAT soon, was it? It seemed to me like a year or two.

There was a major ethics inquiry (RTC?) when the first wife died and it was implied that she wrecked her car because she was drunk. This was rather scandalous since she was the Upper School Head.

She was the Middle School head.

I did not enjoy my time at Delphi - it just wasn't my thing and I knew within the first week of my 5 yr contract that it wasn't for me - but I certainly had some interesting experiences there!

I'm sorry about that.

The ESL prgm was taking over and more and more foreign students who spoke very little (if any) English were signed up. At that time, the ESL tuition was around $30,000 per year and these students were required to fly home at least three times during the school year due to school breaks. It was a very expensive education and they never graduated.

I was under the impression that there were only so many ESL students they could take. Yeah, I remember that most ESL students, even though they graduated their ESL form, and sometimes got as far up as Form 6, never graduated. But I remember Eun Gook Kim graduated (assuming he started out in ESL)

Temporary "summer staff" would come for three months and many were appalled at the living conditions for staff. The vast majority of us lived in tin can trailers with no a/c - and 2 bathrooms which might have to be shared with 10 people.

I think the education was ok but highly overpriced. My son only did ok - didn't hate it, didn't love it. Staff kids were treated differently than the "paying" students and did not get the same attention. Ethics was heavier on them also.

Did your son graduate?

 

[HappyGirl]

Well, there was a whole thing when Janet and Bruce Wiggins divorced, Bill and Marti Hickey divorced, and Alan and Sherri Larson divorced, and Janet ended up with Alan Larson, Bruce ended up with Marti Hickey, Bill Hickey left, and I think Sherri did too. That was before your time, I think. It was pretty odd... all of a sudden Janet Wiggins was Janet Larson, etc. It was a bit weird 'cuz it all happened in a very short period of time. The students were like, "huh?"

-Gus

Me too! Thanks for this data. Although this thread is old, this is news to me. I was never a student at Delphi, but the Larsons got me into Scio, and it was a shock to me when they got divorced. It seemed very sudden, and I never knew why.

I was a student around the time this happened. It seemed odd, but it worked out. I mean, the new couples matched well and are still together today as far as I know.

That's true! I guess it did work out.

 

[MAK]

Hi
anyone work at Delphi from 1975 to 1984?

Was on staff from early 1975 to mid 1976.

MAK

 

[Fightinghemlocks]

Hi
anyone work at Delphi from 1975 to 1984?

On staff from 1974 to around 1980.

 

[MAK]

On staff from 1974 to around 1980.

Hi
I worked gathering fire wood for the boiler when I was first there.

MAK

 

[msbustamove]

Hi MAK. It's been YEARS since I've posted on these blogs. I used to post heavily under the handle MsBustaMove, regrding my days at Delphi. I think that was still scared of....well, what was I to be afraid of? I'm not sure. So, I used the name MsBustaMove. Now I'm 53. So who gives a shit? My name is Marc Mursell (now spell my last name Myrsell, but that's a whole 'nother story). I entered Delphi, just turning 11 years of age in June, 1977. I spent most of the next 6 & 1/2 years there until the fall of 1983. I was one of the first non-scietology students there at the time and, without a doubt was in the minority during my tenure there. Of course, we had to do "scientology-lite", like the BSM and the Comm course and stuff. I was certainly offered auditing, but turned it down. I think that I was too much of a fire-brand, PTS to be ever offered a serious lead in to the church. I feel that for most of my time there, I was on the "cat-bird seat", being a non-scientologist. They could throw the book at me and make me do conditions for rule-breaking. But not quite "all the way" as if I were a scientology kid. I don't need to tell you that I saw a fair amount of friends convert and heard that friends converted later. Nor do I need to tell you of all the goings on during the period. I just wanted to say that I appreciate you keeping this thread going. Marc. ....p.s. I so looked forward to on-campus suspension so as to be able to split wood and feed it in to the boiler room fire-box. BAD ASS!

 

[CaliMule]

Hi MAK. It's been YEARS since I've posted on these blogs. I used to post heavily under the handle MsBustaMove, regrding my days at Delphi. I think that was still scared of....well, what was I to be afraid of? I'm not sure. So, I used the name MsBustaMove. Now I'm 53. So who gives a shit? My name is Marc Mursell (now spell my last name Myrsell, but that's a whole 'nother story). I entered Delphi, just turning 11 years of age in June, 1977. I spent most of the next 6 & 1/2 years there until the fall of 1983. I was one of the first non-scietology students there at the time and, without a doubt was in the minority during my tenure there. Of course, we had to do "scientology-lite", like the BSM and the Comm course and stuff. I was certainly offered auditing, but turned it down. I think that I was too much of a fire-brand, PTS to be ever offered a serious lead in to the church. I feel that for most of my time there, I was on the "cat-bird seat", being a non-scientologist. They could throw the book at me and make me do conditions for rule-breaking. But not quite "all the way" as if I were a scientology kid. I don't need to tell you that I saw a fair amount of friends convert and heard that friends converted later. Nor do I need to tell you of all the goings on during the period. I just wanted to say that I appreciate you keeping this thread going. Marc. ....p.s. I so looked forward to on-campus suspension so as to be able to split wood and feed it in to the boiler room fire-box. BAD ASS!

Boiler room? Damn, I never once got boiler room. I drew heavy scullery. From that I got upper respiratory damage so bad I had to go to a doctor, arranged for by lies and deceit on the part of the MLO which I was supposed to maintain the fiction of, so I really could have used a change of on-campus suspension different from scullery.

I halfway envied Morgan, Josh, Tom . . . and . . . er . . . other Tom(?) getting major compost heap duties for their great marijuana caper. At least they got out and had a bit of greenery and stimulating environment.

If you arrived in June 1977 I should be able to place your face, but at 11 you were probably in Middle School and I was over in Upper School on the other side of the room if I was ever in there. I was not very often on the 4th floor room shared by Middle and Upper school in the summer, as I had become good at staying off course. I don't recall whether Middle School went with Upper School on the camping trip to the Cascades that summer or not. Did you go?

 

[msbustamove]

Boiler room? Damn, I never once got boiler room. I drew heavy scullery. From that I got upper respiratory damage so bad I had to go to a doctor, arranged for by lies and deceit on the part of the MLO which I was supposed to maintain the fiction of, so I really could have used a change of on-campus suspension different from scullery.

I halfway envied Morgan, Josh, Tom . . . and . . . er . . . other Tom(?) getting major compost heap duties for their great marijuana caper. At least they got out and had a bit of greenery and stimulating environment.

If you arrived in June 1977 I should be able to place your face, but at 11 you were probably in Middle School and I was over in Upper School on the other side of the room if I was ever in there. I was not very often on the 4th floor room shared by Middle and Upper school in the summer, as I had become good at staying off course. I don't recall whether Middle School went with Upper School on the camping trip to the Cascades that summer or not. Did you go?

Wasn't that Gold Bottom? And i remember it rained like hell the last part of the trip. Larry Alabaster drove the bus and scared the crap out if us.

 

[CaliMule]

Wasn't that Gold Bottom? And i remember it rained like hell the last part of the trip. Larry Alabaster drove the bus and scared the crap out if us.

I don't remember the name of the campsite. I recall it was some miles up Highway 20 from Sweet Home.

I do remember not only the rain but also the constant haze of blueish volatile organic compounds in the air, which made the air acrid and somewhat sticky, up until it did rain. Oregon was hot and generally in a semi-drought for much of that summer.

A vivid memory from that trip for me was when a giant explosion roared down the valley we were in. Apparently someone committed suicide by setting off a supply of explosives while sitting on top of it. No one from our group.

I also remember that Ann Geiberger showed up a little later in the trip - perhaps as reinforcement female staff. I suspect the "No Fucking at Delphi" rule may have been messed with (it had been repeatedly and was the subject of several notorious ethics actions) during the camping trip and reinforcements were dispatched to corral that. Another female staffer present, a somewhat heavyset shorter woman, was sitting with Ann around the campfire and telling her about how happy she was to be working at Delphi were she could work with kids who were "being so sane". She recounted how in earlier years she spent a lot of time puking into a toilet to the sounds of some rock band, and it was a comparative pleasure to see different paths in life being chosen. Within about 15 minutes of that a set of upper school kids were carrying on very loudly about what kind of drugs and alcohol they wish they had with them on the trip, very near the campfire and unmistakably in her hearing. She was very very incensed about this. The campground was not exclusive to us, so strangers got to hear an earful about these delinquent kids the Scientologists had taken camping.