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Gothard headquarters downsizing, moving to Big Sandy


HereticHick

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The JTTH property appears to be beautiful. I checked it out on google earth & I looked at the pictures on their website. A buyer for that would need deep pockets because it isn't like it's just outside a large city to draw convention goers or retreaters to the area. It's 3 hours from Green Bay which only has about 100,000 people; Milwaukee is another 2 hours south of Green Bay. Duluth, MN is also about 3 hours away from it. None of the cities in the UP are close enough or big enough to keep it running either. Don't get me wrong, I hear the porcupine mt in the UP and Lake of the clouds (near Ontonagon) are beautiful but how many people tour that every year?

Just catching up with this thread, I used to live just south of Ironwood, MI, over the border in WI, and went up to the Porkies and Ontonagon several times a year, and I can tell you a LOT of tourists up there in the season, resorts/hotels/cabins on Lake Superior and near the Porkies are often booked over a year in advance, or re-booked for the next year when one group leaves.

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Just catching up with this thread, I used to live just south of Ironwood, MI, over the border in WI, and went up to the Porkies and Ontonagon several times a year, and I can tell you a LOT of tourists up there in the season, resorts/hotels/cabins on Lake Superior and near the Porkies are often booked over a year in advance, or re-booked for the next year when one group leaves.

Good to know! a Lake Superior side of the UP trip is planned for my family in the next few years.

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Good to know! a Lake Superior side of the UP trip is planned for my family in the next few years.

PM me if you want more specific details, I know from Ontonogon to the Porkies like the back of my hand!!

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Interesting, it looks like it's in an old neighborhood, not on grounds of an institute. (I've never seen the institute so I assume it has buildings further spaced.) Also from the accounts on recovering grace many of the survivor stories said they crossed the lawn and could see his house. I wonder if this is his boyhood home? I'm just guessing, I've never been in or around gothard's cult until FJ.

I thought the first pictured with the caption "8 Pine" was interesting. I am assuming this is confirming my suspicions there are houses on the grounds at HQ. I also thought it was interesting that she thought of her self as Anne of Green Gables or Laura Ingles. Do good IBLP followers read novels with such strong female protagonists?

Smack dab in the middle of this pic is "8 Pine." Interestingly enough, 8 Pine Hill is not a "real" address. I have only been able to find one of the addresses on DuPage County's site, "4 Cheval" which is either the Pecan's house or one next to it, I believe. So "compound" is a pretty accurate term of what's going on back there. And yeah, the home that they say is Gothard's on that blog is definitely not back there.

....binged.it/1MpTuKn...

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Interesting, there still isn't mention of the move on the HQ website nor on davidlovespriscilla blog.

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I am baffled that no one but the Staddons have mentioned this--makes me wonder if they revealed something supposed to be still secret--but as of today they haven't removed the blog post either.

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I am baffled that no one but the Staddons have mentioned this--makes me wonder if they revealed something supposed to be still secret--but as of today they haven't removed the blog post either.

I think they wanted the announcement made, but deemphasized. No one can say it wasn't disclosed by doing it this way. If they had made a broader announcement, or a more "visible" family had announced it, they'd be inviting more attention and questions.

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PM me if you want more specific details, I know from Ontonogon to the Porkies like the back of my hand!!

You can PM me too, I know the Copper Country/Keweenaw Peninsula and Marquette County areas.

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Based on this IBLP post from last week, I am wondering if the Northwoods Conference Center is now up for sale as well:

/iblp.org/news/journey-oregon

"Journey in Oregon

Testimonies from the new location!

Held on the beautiful Oregon coast, God brought fifteen girls and nineteen guys to attend a Journey to the Heart, August 27-September 4...one young man was from the East coast. After hearing about the Journey from a friend, the latter traveled from one coast to the other to attend when he heard there were no more Journeys scheduled for the Northwoods (centrally located) this year. The Young Men’s and Young Ladies’ Journeys in Oregon were held simultaneously yet separately on the same campus."

The JTTH website explains that the Journeys traditionally began & ended at the Gothard HQ in Oak Brook, with Northwoods in-between: /iblp.org/programs/journey-heart

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I think they wanted the announcement made, but deemphasized. No one can say it wasn't disclosed by doing it this way. If they had made a broader announcement, or a more "visible" family had announced it, they'd be inviting more attention and questions.

Well, Michael Keilen (Bates) wrote on their blog:

"We know that many challenges will come our way in the days ahead, and we’ve already been seeking the Lord about some major changes that will be coming our direction. But we rejoice in the hope that whatever comes, God will weave it to form a beautiful thing for our good as we love Him"

It wouldn't surprise me if a move to Big Sandy is one of those mayor changes ...

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Based on this IBLP post from last week, I am wondering if the Northwoods Conference Center is now up for sale as well:

/iblp.org/news/journey-oregon

"Journey in Oregon

Testimonies from the new location!

Held on the beautiful Oregon coast, God brought fifteen girls and nineteen guys to attend a Journey to the Heart, August 27-September 4...one young man was from the East coast. After hearing about the Journey from a friend, the latter traveled from one coast to the other to attend when he heard there were no more Journeys scheduled for the Northwoods (centrally located) this year. The Young Men’s and Young Ladies’ Journeys in Oregon were held simultaneously yet separately on the same campus."

The JTTH website explains that the Journeys traditionally began & ended at the Gothard HQ in Oak Brook, with Northwoods in-between: /iblp.org/programs/journey-heart

Does anyone know where in Oregon?

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The next JTTH is scheduled for the Eagle Springs training center in Skiatook, OK.

That was Rockaway Beach, OR.

Northwoods was scheduled through at least the end of September.

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The next JTTH is scheduled for the Eagle Springs training center in Skiatook, OK.

That was Rockaway Beach, OR.

Northwoods was scheduled through at least the end of September.

Oh good, not anywhere close to here.

Thank you!

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Dose it snow in Big Sandy? If not, I am really going to miss The Pecan’s annual special snowflake video.

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This is a tough area to fly into, there's a small, expensive airport in Longview with two flights a day from Dallas. TTH is at least a couple hours from Tulsa and Little Rock.

Good thing the Duggars still have the planes.

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  • 2 weeks later...
This is a tough area to fly into, there's a small, expensive airport in Longview with two flights a day from Dallas. TTH is at least a couple hours from Tulsa and Little Rock.

Good thing the Duggars still have the planes.

Only tough to fly into via airline. There are plenty of small airports in the region.

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I still find no mention of the Gothard move in the media, but I did just stumble upon this article. Gothard sold off a property in 2013:

Chicago Daily Herald

July 6, 2015 Monday

Refurbished Drake Hotel debuts in Oak Brook

BYLINE: By Jessica Cilella, Daily Herald Business Ledger Writer

The historic Drake Hotel in Oak Brook has reopened its doors after several years of sitting vacant.

Extensive renovations completed by the hotel's new owners, Jim Nagle and his wife, Tely, were unveiled during a recent grand opening celebration attended by hundreds of socialites and guests who had fond memories of the hotel's earlier days.

"People are thrilled," Nagle said. "There's just a lot of love for this place."

The hotel, located at 2301 York Road, was built in 1962 as the suburban counterpart to the iconic Drake Hotel on Michigan Avenue in Chicago...

The hotel was known as the Wyndham Drake when it closed in 2009. The Nagles purchased the hotel in December 2013 for $6.5 million from the Institute in Basic Life Principles, which planned to use it for seminars and as a dormitory...

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I still find no mention of the Gothard move in the media, but I did just stumble upon this article. Gothard sold off a property in 2013:

Chicago Daily Herald

July 6, 2015 Monday

Refurbished Drake Hotel debuts in Oak Brook

BYLINE: By Jessica Cilella, Daily Herald Business Ledger Writer

The historic Drake Hotel in Oak Brook has reopened its doors after several years of sitting vacant.

Extensive renovations completed by the hotel's new owners, Jim Nagle and his wife, Tely, were unveiled during a recent grand opening celebration attended by hundreds of socialites and guests who had fond memories of the hotel's earlier days.

"People are thrilled," Nagle said. "There's just a lot of love for this place."

The hotel, located at 2301 York Road, was built in 1962 as the suburban counterpart to the iconic Drake Hotel on Michigan Avenue in Chicago...

The hotel was known as the Wyndham Drake when it closed in 2009. The Nagles purchased the hotel in December 2013 for $6.5 million from the Institute in Basic Life Principles, which planned to use it for seminars and as a dormitory...

Wow. Good spotting! I know exactly the building they're talking about, too. It's so weird that Gothard is so close to where I'm at now, and I had no idea for a long time. I'm almost a little bummed that it will more unlikely for me to have any Chicago-land fundie encounters now.

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I still find no mention of the Gothard move in the media, but I did just stumble upon this article. Gothard sold off a property in 2013:

Chicago Daily Herald

July 6, 2015 Monday

Refurbished Drake Hotel debuts in Oak Brook

BYLINE: By Jessica Cilella, Daily Herald Business Ledger Writer

The historic Drake Hotel in Oak Brook has reopened its doors after several years of sitting vacant.

Extensive renovations completed by the hotel's new owners, Jim Nagle and his wife, Tely, were unveiled during a recent grand opening celebration attended by hundreds of socialites and guests who had fond memories of the hotel's earlier days.

"People are thrilled," Nagle said. "There's just a lot of love for this place."

The hotel, located at 2301 York Road, was built in 1962 as the suburban counterpart to the iconic Drake Hotel on Michigan Avenue in Chicago...

The hotel was known as the Wyndham Drake when it closed in 2009. The Nagles purchased the hotel in December 2013 for $6.5 million from the Institute in Basic Life Principles, which planned to use it for seminars and as a dormitory...

I wonder how much Gothard paid for that property. He's been gifted an awful lot of real estate, and if you can sell something you got free for $6.5 million, you've done pretty well for yourself.

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I'd love to know how much Gothard paid for it too, but it wasn't free--it was either foreclosed or in receivership. It had been sold to in 2008 for $20 million

Chicago Tribune

March 19, 2015 Thursday

Drake Oak Brook hotel reopens;

Owners renovate plush, 160-room 'top-notch' hotel

"The Nagles purchased the hotel from the Institute in Basic Life Principles, an Oak Brook-based organization with plans to use it for seminars and as a dormitory. Before that plan fell through, the hotel, which was then known as the Wyndham Drake Hotel, was a victim of the recession and other factors. A previous owner, an affiliate of Chicago-based investment firm Wextrust Capital LLC, purchased the hotel in 2008 for $20 million. Wextrust was later accused of operating a $100 million Ponzi scheme, according to a Tribune report. Both principals were sentenced to serve time in prison."

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I used to drive by that hotel back when it was just the independently owned Drake Oak Brook in the '90s. Interesting to know that IFBP had owned it at one point.

Rather glad to see it reopened as the Drake again.

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Man, I've been out of the loop for way over a month due to vacation and other stuff. I didn't know about IBLP in Oak Brook going on the market. I was driving by fairly frequently this past summer (and wandering into the parking lot to turn around). There were never many cars there. Ever. Lots of times it looked empty. I'm going to head over there this weekend to see if there's any signs of moving activity.

They'll get a good chunk for the property. It's in a desirable location and looks to be in good condition. What I always found kind of funny is that it looks smaller in person. It's one of those buildings that looks as if it was built in a style to appear much grander than it really is.

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Full disclosure: another FJ'er and I made the trek last weekend to check out the property. We second the notion that there seems to be little activity going on and parts of the campus seem to be vacant. Of course this is based on on single Saturday afternoon , but the weather was fantastic and we were surprised by the lack of cars or other signs of life at the main building off Ogden.a06705505e23b0fc00c27b75b4b23f90.jpg0b609f629b64dd3cfb0812ede3bcdf4d.jpg

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Being the nosy git I am I looked up the property tax records - IBLP owns the main campus and a good chunk of the homes in the immediate neighborhood. I have the PINs to easily look up the properties - if you are interested PM me I can send.

Anyways, the main campus is tax exempt but they do pay property taxes on the residential properties. It looks like in 2014 the taxes on some of the properties increased by a significant amount, which may be part of the reason they are moving. Furthermore, the IBLP residential properties are fairly modest while being surrounded by multi-million dollar homes - if I were a board member I'd sell all day long and move to Big Sandy. They will likely make a ton of cash off the property and will move to a significantly less expensive area. With the dwindling enrollment and perhaps expectant lawsuits they probably need all the cash they can get right now.

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Thanks Peas n carrots!! Do you think alot of their residential properties will be purchased for tear-downs?

Man, Big Sandy-area Realtors must be salivating over this move.

Big Sandy only has 1,200 residents (the whole county has 39,000)-- the Gothard refugees, with all their dependents, could increase the population by 10%, easy.

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