Cleveland, Ohio Seed

[Anonymous]

I'm compiling a history of the Cleveland Seed. It closed in the Fall of 1978. I'm not sure when it opened. Does anybody in this forum know about it, or have experiences there?

[Anonymous]

I was in St. Pete Seed up till it closed in 75(?). I remember staff in st. pete would bring up the Ohio program from time to time.Lots of excitement(of course staff was always enthusiastic)about how big that program was + how that was only the start! Art + friends were going to open programs throughout the country! I don't recall ever seeing or knowing of anyone from Ohio.However one of our staff members did visit the program up there when it first opened.Her name was Darlene(small redhead),senior staff member in st pete,chain smoked newports,very tough demeanor,and one of Art's "adopted" daughters.Does that ring any bells? How long was O open? Was it as big as we were told?

[mackassarian]

The Cleveland, Ohio Seed was located in some sort of old Catholic children's home. There were a couple or a few hundred Seedlings there at its peak. I remember members there named Hank, Bob, Ginger, Scott Barrett (or Barrettbitski), Shelley, Diane, John Perloff. Sometimes Art would come up and sing for everyone with his ukelele.

[pigeon]

I was put in the cleveland seed in 1976. I think it was pretty big at the time.  Like maybe 100 people.  It was in an old orphanage.  It was huge with all these spaces we never saw.  The open meetings were in the old gym.  By the time I came back for my first anniversary (I graduated in about nine months and came up with lots of reasons I couldn't go in after that) the open meeting was in the rap room(much smaller) and there seemed to be only about twenty five seedlings.  They closed and left suddenly over night taking some kids with them and graduating some over the phone.  I think that was in 1979.  That morning there was an article questioning their validity in the local paper, The Plain Dealer, and they were long gone.

[Anonymous]

What else do you remember about the Cleveland Seed?

John Perloff is a lawyer in Ft Lauderdale now and is Art Barkers business partner and personal lawyer.  He is in touch with Libby Barker, now libby Kienzle, thru some volunteer work they do training dogs for the blind.

Scott Barrett is a mortgage broker, partnered with other seedlings, in Ft Lauderdale. All of them still hold Art in Very high regard, way way up on a pedestal.


Welcome and tell us more about what you experienced there in the Cleveland seed. I understand they had a boxing ring, a la synanon, there, but they didn't have this in other locations.

Thanks again.

Greg.

[Anonymous]

Also, you could be of tremendous help if you are in the Cleveland area, please go to the public library or the Cleveland plain Dealer and obtain the archived articles on the seed for me, and then contact me. I would much appreciate it.

[pigeon]

I don't live in cleveland now but I sometimes return. When I do I'd be happy to do a little research.
No boxing ring, at least when I was there but boxing with super thick gloves was sometimes an activity, when Art was up.
Arts visits provided a break from the endless raps and verbal attacks.  He'd just blather on about how we would remember this as the best time of our lives.  Tell us stupid and generally racist jokes(he said that was ok because he had a joke of every race--we were encouraged to tell them too.) Boxing and soft ball only happened when Art was around.

[GregFL]

Funny you mentioned Softball. We never had anything like that in St Pete, but I recently met a guy in Costa Rica that told me when he was a kid, he was in a different synanon type rehab in Ft Lauderdale, and this rehab used to play softball against the Seed. He told me they used to wear signs around their neck, a la synanon, etc.

Anyone else know anything about this?

[Anonymous]

That never happened- I can assure you- softball took place - but never against another drug program of any kind-

[Anonymous]

i remember boxing i remember softball. we never were exposed to any other rehab.  art would never have had that.  i loved when we played baseball.  those were the times when my mind was free.  those were the times i didnt have rummage through  my mind in a rap sesson to come up with a lie to talk about.  every time art came to cleveland i was relieved and over joyed.  not for him. but it gave me great freedom from the stress of "relating" to some bull.i would think in my head, "well i got out of that rap sesson.  I remember art would sit and talk about seedling that have left the seed.  he always credited himself with anyones sucess and indirectly instilled fear into seedlings with the failure of others.  if they only would have done it the seeds way or arts way.  in reality art has failed  many.  art is responsible for the break up of many family.  destroying many relationships and lives.  one day he will burn in hell.  arts has only suceeded in life by feeding his own false ego with lies.  may he suffer in his old age till death for every life he tried to destroy

[pigeon]

Anonymous, How can it be that you and I are the only people on this forum from the Ohio seed.
Might I know you? I was hard to miss, because at the time I was put in the program,(1976) I was their youngest newcomer ever; I was twelve.  Less than a year later another girl came in who was even younger; eleven.  I was her Oldcomer, poor girl, I tried to prove my right seedlingness by making her life a living hell.

[Anonymous]

i was in the cleveland seed in 1978.  i was there for a short time and the seed packed up its bags and went back to florida

[Anonymous]

I've always wondered what it was like to be in the program when they cut and ran. Were you one of the people who was called that night to be told they were suddenly graduated? Since you said you were there a short time I assume you weren't one of the newcomers they took with them.  What part of the program where you on when it happened?

My story of the seed excedus goes like this.
I had been a graduate for about a year.  I never went into the raps as a grad.  I started dating another graduate. My parents were unhappy with the match.  I think because he was black and I am white(of course they didn't say that)and because I had just started going to this private school were they expected I could make more friends(because there were no druggies there, hah!)and showing up to dances with a black boy from the public school didn't help one get accepted.  They had started making  noises like, we just don't know maybe we should send you back to the seed. So, my then boyfriend went cross town to the Seed to tell a staff member we were dating and hopefully get the big OK.  
No, big ok.  "Absolutely not," they said, "That was the last thing we needed.  We should be coming and helping with newcomers-blah-blah-blah."
That night he called to tell me the news and we cried for hours on the phone.  I cried the rest of the night alone.
The next day the Seed was gone like magic.  So we could go on dating, cause I was sure I would have to be pretty bad for my parents to send me to down to florida for repairs.
Of course we were both damaged by carrying an underlying sense that we were doing something wrong anyway.

[Anonymous]

I thought Art was forced to close all but the Fort Lauderdale Seed in 1975.  How did the Cleveland Seed stay open until 1978?

[GregFL]

Art to my knowledge was never forced to close any seed location but did so entirely voluntarily. The Ft lauderdale seed ran on until just a couple years ago, but it was nothing like the seed in its heydey, 1973/74.