Personal Statement of Anonymous 3

Concerning BESA ( Bethlehem Elementary School Association), as an ex-member of the Supreme Council of the H.O.J. of the U.S.A.., Inc., who was born and raised in this organization and whose family is in it 4 to 5 generations deep, I feel that the truth about what I experienced in the HOJ could be of help to someone.

First of all, I'd like to mention that the HOJ operated an elementary/ boarding school in the late 60's and early 70's. It was located on the farm (their headquarters) in Coshocton, OH. They referred to it as Besa. Because of their inc[orporated] status, this school was not state inspected or approved. The Ohio Board of Education was not even aware of it's [sic] existence nor do they have any records on the school. The local school district only has limited knowledge of the school. They knew the year that the school opened because kids were withdrawn from the public school[,] and they knew the year that the school closed because children were then re-enrolled in the public school. Incidentally, their last year of operation was the 1972-73 school year. I was one of the unfortunate children who attended this school, along with two of my siblings. However, I was not as unfortunate as some of the children who did not live to return home.

I and my brothers endured daily beatings. They had custom[-]made leather straps with wooden handles made for all of the teachers and matrons of the dorms, etc.

When my oldest brother wet the bed, he had a sheet wrapped around his neck and he was paraded around through the dormitory by the dorm master. He was not given prompt medical attention when he became ill and he ended up in the nursing home they operate on the farm called Jacob's Dwelling. He was nine years old at the time and unable to walk due to a severe case of rheumatic fever.

My other brother endured daily abuse at the hands of this same dorm master. He was slapped in the back of the head and always told how ugly he was. The physical and verbal/emotional abuse that my brothers suffered went on for three years. They were seven and nine their first year there. My parents were totally unaware of the abuse and even paid money for this good, private education.

The living conditions in the dormitories were inhumane. The floors were cement, with no carpets, rugs, tiling or linoleum -- just plain cement. There were no stalls between the toilets (even children deserve a certain amount of privacy). For years, their [sic] were no showers or tubs in the dormitories. Children were only occasionally washed up at the sinks, their hair washed in a metal tub a couple of times a month. Later, showers were installed in the dormitories, but only the "big" kids could use them (fourth to sixth graders). The younger children were still washed up at the sink. The matron of the girls dorm would tell me to "squat" so she could wash me and I would just stand there naked and shake and cry and tell her that I could wash myself. She would scream at me to "SQUAT!!", until I would relinquish. I endured almost daily beatings from her. She would call all of the girls into the bathroom and make them get into a circle around me and watch her beat me with her custom made leather strap.

My first grade teacher also beat me nearly everyday. He would make me go up in front of the class and bend over and grab my ankles. I would cry and cry because I did not want my butt to stick out when I bent over. You see, it is against the HOJ's rules for girl's [sic] to wear pants. Anyway, he would yell at me and make me bend over and grab my ankles, then he would beat me with his custom[-]made leather strap. The humiliation of bending over in front of everyone with a dress on was almost as damaging to my psyche as the beating was to my person. I also recall that he was a pretty large man. I, on the other hand, was about a 35[-]pound six[-]year old. Since I did not attend kindergarten, this was also my first school experience. You can imagine what a profound effect it had on my attitude toward school in the future.

Another thing that I recall about living there is that there was a woman who lived in the corner of the girl's dorm with only a divider up to separate the bed where her and her five[-]year[-]old daughter slept. I cannot recall the woman's name, but her daughter's name was Tanya and it was common knowledge that she was the illegitimate daughter of a man who resided on the farm with his wife and children. Tanya's mother worked in the school cafeteria. One time she had to wear sunglasses for awhile, even when she dished out the food. She had some sort of confrontation with the man's wife and he had punched her in the face.

Maybe the saddest story of all, though, is the one about the little boy who died on the playground. Some of the bigger boys jumped on his chest[,] and it sent him into cardiac arrest. There were no adults present, so all of these little kids got in a circle around him and watched him flop around. Even when an adult finally came on the scene it was awhile before they called for emergency help. They tried to do some "voodoo" stuff on him until it was too late. The sad thing about it is that it took him so long to die...[.]

---

More personal stories.

---

Personal Stories  Secrets  News  Overview  Start  Search  About  Help  Contact Us  Submit Your Personal Story