Hey Cleve Chick,
I remember it that way too. Art and Shelly flew up to Cleveland one day, unexpectedly, like always. But staff was super serious, and after the usual joking around, Art said gave a little speech which I don't remember very well, but the gist of it was that people who weren't a part of the seed would never understand it, that the media and goverment were always going to oppose it, and that we should never believe what we read in the papers. Then he said that there would be an article in the Plain Dealer that would come out soon.
Then I think there was some confering in the back office while the group did the rules or something like that. At some point, Art came out and said that the Cleveland Seed was closing, and that kids still on their program as well as some oldcomers would be coming down to Florida to join the Ft. Lauderdale Seed. And that was it. I think it was only a few days later that we packed up and left, which I dimly recall as a caravan of cars.
Scott B., who had led the Cleveland Seed and I always thought of as the director, never played that role again. In fact, he was rarely in the group, and didn't lead raps that I recall in Florida. I thought he might have been 'come down' on for something, maybe for the Cleveland Seed closing. He surprised me by showing up one day in the guys' apartment, with an attache case full of gold chains he selling. Since I was still a newcomer and took all of the seed jargon literally, I was stunned to see this guy hocking cheap bling! Later he became a mortgage broker.
Anyway, after I left the Seed I looked up the article in the PD files, which would have been Sept/Oct '79, I think? It was about the Seed lacking a license, being controversial, etc. Nothing that hadn't been covered in the press before.
Cleveland Seed people that went to Florida: Me and John G., another newcomer. Diane A who I think was a newcomer 'chick.' Diane M and John P, jr. staff. Jeff P, Larry D, Wayne A, Jim A, Tom D, Bobby M, Tom V, a kid named Rick, Mary (who later married staff member Phil S.). My brother Evan W stayed behind with a couple of other Seed kids who were still in HS, like Wade H (who later came down to Florida too). Oh yeah, there was Eric Mc and his sister (he was a golden gloves boxer) and I think his mom even moved to Florida with them. A jr. staff kid named Alex, whose family owned a greek restaurant, stayed behind and I never saw him again. John G (see Seed kids who died) came down later with his wife and child. Cleveland staff members Laura, Cookie C, Bob W, Ginger T, Scott B came down too.
Remember any of these? I don't remember the girls as well as the guys, obviously I had little contact with them.