| Contact | Business | Psychology | Neptune | Science | Politics | Astrology | Index | Karma | Health | MUSIC |
THE FARM: a Quaker Boarding School by Bill (Will Chris Holley aka ARCHURE)
This is why I am the way that I am, or part of the story. In Summer of 1964, at age 11, I started my 2 year adventure at The Farm, a private Quaker School run by Foy (Educator/Actor) & Elizabeth "Libby" Van Dolsen (Anthropologist/Artist); who were related to Joan Baez, and educated her. They based their boarding school on "Summerhill" by A.S. Neil http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._S._Neill, a "Free School" in England, no rules, no requirements, just Freedom. It was this Freedom which led me to start projects by myself, do things for myself (if you want anything done, you've got to do it yourself).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foy_Van_Dolsen
HORROR ISLAND TRAILER 1941 with Foy Van Dolsen as the Phantom
SIDEREAL CHARTS:
(ran the school) Foy Van Dolsen's chart
http://archure.net/p/Foy_Van_Dolsen_timelocationunkown.gifI think Foy was born in Los Angeles. His short mother was from Peru, and Foy was 6'7" big guy, his Venus conjunct my Saturn conjunct Neptune (perhaps I was teaching him), and my Venus on his North Node. They used to talk about Ceres, how big Ceres is.
(ran the school) Elizabeth Van Dolsen's chart
http://archure.net/p/Elizabeth_VanDolsen_timelocationunknown.gifLibby was very nice to me. Her North Node on my Ascendant, and her Jupiter near my S. Node. She had Uranus conj Mars, but was a careful considerate driver; she was a bit radical politically. Foy and Libby's charts, times and locations unknown, I left the city as Las Vegas only because that is where I am now, it does not make much difference with time location unknown. Elizabeth was an Artist and taught us Water Colors, Art History, Weaving, Pottery, etc.
My chart
http://www.archure.net/p/Archure_Will_Chris_Holley_sid_2.jpg(created the educational method) A.S. Neill's chart
http://archure.net/p/ASNeill_Sidereal_Chart.gifA.S. Neill's chart is not the best combination with mine, so its good that Foy was my educator, and not A.S. Neil, but I think it was a very good education method, and worked well with me (went into all honors classes when I went back to a regular L.A. City School)
More about Siderealhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidereal_and_tropical_astrology
http://archure.net/psychology.html#freud
I am a SIDEREALIST; see why, see SIGMUND FREUD's Sidereal Chart
EMAIL RESPONSE from ANOTHER STUDENT at The Farm
I recently got email from "Bruce Benjamin", another "The Farm" graduate (who lives in Santa Cruz CA (cool place), and is a musician too. In case there are other The Farm grads and friends out there, Bruce Benjamin's email address (with his permission) is dubgroove@yahoo.com Bruce says he is the son of "abstract expressionist Karl Benjamin" and that he's "been a reggae drummer for 20 yrs. and am recording in Oakland right now (Jan 2007) at Wallysound studios in a project called Super Tough"
EMAIL RESPONSE from a SECOND STUDENT at The Farm
"Mark Lyon" lyonlyondown@aol.com who attended The Farm 1969-70
Was a Auto Repairman, now an Assistant film Director for many years FILM BIO http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0528957/, and wound up in Berkeley CA (great place, I would consider living in Berkeley CA, good town).
So there we have it, 3 of us accounted for now. A Film Director in Berkely, a Reggae Drummer (I am too), and me, a Photographer (and musician). I heard that Margie Schutz is now Margret Sorel MD (? unable to verify). Oddly enough (lots of parallels here), Margie was from Berkeley, and 2 Reggae drummers (one from Oakland, which is right next door to Berkeley, and I come from a Hollywood Film Family, unbelievable. See my PSYCIC PHENOMENA page http://www.archure.net/psychology/psychic.html MORE BELOW
Class was from after breakfast till lunch, and attendance was not mandatory. Class was on the subject of what ever we wanted it to be on, and if we ran out of ideas, Foy & Libby had plenty. The school ranged from 5 to 10 kids per year.
.
Located on the Northwest Pacific Coast, around a half mile from the Pacific (you could hear the waves at night), in the Redwood Forest. The main house was filled with bookshelves, including many almanacs and everything and anything else. It was my high IQ intellectual grandfather Ted and my high IQ intellectual grandmother Mimi who found and arranged for me to attend The Farm (50 miles south of where they lived in Mendocino CA (a town of The Arts, by the sea & redwoods, used in many movies & TV, "Cabots Cove" in Murder She Wrote)
.
There was no TV. After dinner, Foy (and excellent orator/actor) would read novels aloud to the class, including: The Grapes of Wrath & The Pearl by Steinbeck, Mutiny on the Bounty (the trilogy), Johnny Tremaine, Little House on the Prairie, Catcher in the Rye, Black Like Me, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, A Wrinkle in Time, The Phantom Tollbooth, some of Franklins Autobiography, some Plato, every night, usually a chapter or 2 per evening. And we listend to lots of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Bluegrass.
.
Libby (Sociologist/Anthropologist, and strong LIBERAL, we used to estimate that perhaps the word Liberal was derived from the name "Libby"), and Foy Van Dolsen (Actor, Educator, and former So CA Private School Principal); who ran the small, quality education, Quaker School "The Farm" on the Pacific NorthWest Coast of CA. I will post a better version of this photo, later.
.
Then we went to the uninsulated but covered sleeping areas on the hill called "The Platform" (built by students), and Foy would come up and tell us stories of his cross country hobo adventures during the Great Depression, and his Hollywood acting, etc as we dozed off to sleep, or we would listen to the wide band radio (reception only at night), Wolfman Jack, Brother Al, This Diamond Ring, Love Potion #9, The Supreems, Petula Clark, The Righteous Brothers, Hermans Hermits, The Animals, Yardbirds, Lovin Spoonful, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, & The Rolling Stones.
.
With the clean skies, the clear stars, a half mile or less from the Pacific, on a Farm with pigs, Nubian goats, a donkey "Sunshine", sheep, geese (noisy, and attacked me constantly), dogs, cats, rabbits, chickens.
.
EDUCATIONAL RESULTS = OUTSTANDING
There was only ONE MANDATORY TEST at the end of the year, the California State Achievement Test, which we all expected to flunk, but we all jumped higher than we ever had in any Public School. And when I went back to Public School in Van Nuys CA (James Madison Jr High 1966-68), I was placed in Honors Classes (and did well, me and another student tied for 1st place in US History Honors Class), but admitedly, It took me maybe 10 hours to write my first 3 page essay, now just look at me
.
My best photo (artistic)
.
The attitudes were very Quakerish: Non-Violent, Anti-War , Anti-Racist, very Hip for 1964 thru 1966. They were not vegetarians, but had vegetarian visitors, who helped my eventual sway to vegetarianism (some of the students tried it). There were Teacher Assistants and others around, many of whom helped me learn guitar, Jack Knox, and Libby's son Michael Mathey. Joan Baez come over to visit too, she liked me, and I her, and Candice too, very hip chick for 1964.
Selected LINKS from JoanBaez.com's Links page
Amnesty International
Human Rights Watch
abolish the death penalty. information, statistics, and links
Resource Center for Nonviolence
Central Committee For Conscientious Objectors
Joan Baez.com
.
.
I was low on B Vitamins and often depressed (I didnt want to take my vitamins, I didn't see the corolation, even if I was told from time to time).
.
At the end of the year, they promised that no animal friends would be put to slaughter, but during the summer thats how they got food for the next school year.
.
Each year I raised a calf, to sell it at auction, didn't pull any profit, the feed cost more than what I got, I was sad to see them go.
.
When a vegetarian visited the school, several of us tried a vegetarian diet. I liked the idea, and tried to stick with it, but my family did not like the idea; however, eventually I was allowed to be a vegetarian.
.
Ben Franklin hung around Quakers (his wife was a Quaker).
Ben Franklin was a Vegetarian (autobiography chapter 1 age 16, around page 17 in most editions).
Not all Quakers are vegetarians, most of them are not
However some respected Quakers who were vegetarians, were personal friends of mine
The tensions of opposition of vegetarianism by Quakers who were from families of many generations of Quakerism, led to my not being accepted by Quakers, and even though my words in the General Meeting at Friends Yearly Meeting were not about vegetarianism, my words were in support of Peace (a long time Quaker stance, which they talked of abandoning at that time), I was asked to leave (Michael Mathay, highly respected Quaker and others, Ginny Currier, etc, thought it an unfair action, I was not out of line at all, it was just because I am a vegetarian and not from a multi generation of Quakers family). They made me a Quaker, a Pacifist, got my support, then abandoned me; high and dry, a liberal pacifist in a world like this, thanks alot.
.
.
While I was at Friends Yearly Meeting (West Coast, around 1969?-70?) I was fortunate to meet Cesar Chavez (famous Farm Workers Union leader http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/César_Chávez) who was a vegetarian vegan. In discussion with him, he liked my ideas regarding postponing a signing of a new Union contract, delaying it for a couple of weeks until a better time astrologically, it worked, and in the time it was postponed, a new and better union contract was written. I am honored to have assisted him, honored that he liked my ideas, used my ideas, and they worked. I am grateful for the support of other good friends who helped in assisting Cesar Chavez with my plan, teamwork. (I had nothing to do with the paperwork or ideas in the union contract, only in the timming of the signing), but I got to spend some time with the man, and we had fun.
.
The Farm taught us to be Self Motivated.
Freedom in Education led to education being an internal motivation process, as apposed to an external action forcing me to learn.
I encourage everyone, to read more Non-Fiction
.
.