At Heaven's Gate, 1976

Several representatives of a couple known simply as "The Two" visited Olympia, Washington on Feb. 8, 1976 and spoke at the old Community Center. They were loudly heckled by a group of Jehovah's Witnesses but I was impressed how much they kept their calm demeanor as they made their pitch. The only part of their doctrine I really recall was that alien ships were about to come and take anyone who was willing to the next level before Earth was wiped clean. Naturally it was tempting to jump up and yell, "To Serve Man, it's a cookbook!!"

The next day I drew this self-portrait.

"The Two" were Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles, who were not part of the presentation. They later named their group Heaven's Gate, and 39 members (including Applewhite) committed suicide in 1997, deliberately coinciding with the zenith of the comet Hale-Bopp. I sometimes wonder how many of those speakers I saw in 1976 were among those unfortunate 39 followers.