Bohemian Grove
by Mary Moore,
Bohemian Grove organizer (21 years)

In the past couple of months I've received several phone calls from community members of Monte Rio and Guerneville who were concerned about some issues about organizing for the annual July encampment at Bohemian Grove. The purpose of this letter is to clarify what is happening.

Those of you who have lived here for the past two decades will remember that since 1980 we have had an annual presence at the gates of this exclusive mens club that has lasted anywhere from one day to over two weeks. In 1980 we also started a tradition called the "Resurrection of Care" in counterpart to their infamous "Cremation of Care." We were fortunate over the years to have people like Holly Near, Angela Davis, Bill Wahpepah, Delores Huerta, Sistah Boom, Betsy Rose, Sonia Johnson and the Rev. Cecil Williams among others to help us in our efforts. The local community which includes many organizers has always been supportive and helpful.

Over the years we have been surprisingly successful in getting the word out to the larger national and in some cases international media about who these men are and most importantly how they affect our lives in the larger world. Besides calling attention to this little known place, our most important work has been obtaining and publishing the annual lists of LAKESIDE TALKS which are given each year by prominent men from the corporate, financial, military and governmental circles of the world including ex presidents.

THESE TALKS ARE OFTEN WAYS TO FLOAT IDEAS WITHOUT PUBLIC SCRUTINY THAT EVENTUALLY BECOME PUBLIC POLICY AND HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR YOU AND ME.

In 2001 after 21 years of organizing these demonstrations I was approaching burnout and was also facing a serious illness in my family. I asked the I.A.C. (International Action Center now A.N.S.W.E.R.) to help with the organizing as they are headquartered in San Francisco (home of the Bohemian Club) and had a lot more resources than I did. In my opinion they did an excellent job and between us over 1000 people turned out to join the protest. For the first time a large rally took place in the Monte Rio parking lot before the march to the Grove. Because we are protected under first amendment rights to march and demonstrate, permits did not become an issue.

In 2002 however, a local group took on the organizing with me and they came up with a new name for the protest--THE FAT CATS FESTIVAL AND PARADE. It was at this point that permits did become an issue especially around the use of the parking lot and the "parade" to the Grove because the change in name took away our first amendment protection. I didn't like the name as I don't see anything festive about these guys and I felt it somewhat trivialized our efforts over the years.

At that time I kept quiet because it didn't seem important enough to make a fuss and I realized that the new group hadn't understood the implications. We did manage to work it out with the county and Monte Rio Park & Rec. at the last minute chalking it up to a misunderstanding.

Last year another local group (Sonoma County Not in our Name) which formed around recent anti war efforts, took on the organizing with my support and decided it wanted to keep last years name and concept even though it had caused problems. About this time I started getting calls from locals including a board member of the Park & Rec. who were concerned about the "new concept". It seemed to me that the concerns were valid and not hard to address so I wrote to NION sharing my thoughts and figured there would be no problem once they understood the objections. I then put the board member in touch with NION so they could talk directly. I'm sorry to say that both our efforts failed. There was to be no discussion. It was at this point that I asked to have my name and that of Bohemian Grove Action Network withdrawn from the organizing materials and my support from the groups efforts for the July 19 "festival". It as the first protest I've missed in 23 years.

I FEEL THAT IT IS A MISTAKE not to take community concerns into consideration especially when longtime allies raise them. I agree that a "Festival and Parade" sends the wrong message especially this year when we are faced with this hostile takeover of our country and of the world. These men at the Grove are Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Powell etc.--a crowd that deserves a SERIOUS protest. I also don't understand why NION is inviting a confrontation with the county over permits when it isn't necessary. The issue then becomes permits--not Bohemian Grove and the focus is lost.

If you are new to the area don't understand what this is all about you can learn more on the internet by going to www.sonomacountyfreepress.com. There are also many articles available from over the years. If you want to discuss the issues further I can be reached at (707) 874-2248. I have been part of this community for over thirty years and appreciate all the support we have had over the past two decades while calling attention to the "Good ol' Boys Network" in our backyard.

Mary Moore
(707) 874-2248

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