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"It's Called the Church of Spiritual Technology"
Ferndale Enterprise
December 14, 1989

The Church of Spiritual Technology, which owns some
3,000 acres in the Mattole, has a membership of 45 people;
this, according to Michele Ouelette of "the Los Angeles
area," who represents himself as a spokesman for the
church.

Those associated with the church are reluctant to speak,
giving rise to rumors, many of them.

The church is not L.Ron Hubbard's Church of Scientology,
as many thought, nor is it the Church of Science and
Technology, as reported in this newspaper June 12, 1986,
when what was left of the Walker Mountain, the oldest
building around Petrolia, was burned in a controlled fire
on Mother's Day to make room for a new structure.

The county is widening the Old Mattole Road which
leads into Sunset View Ranch, established in 1858,
and on ranch grounds the road also is being widened
and graded by the church.

The former home of Ben and Louise Walker, which sits
on a knoll, has been remodeled and is now the residence
of the caretaker, Jim, who would not give his last name,
but said he is a member of the church.

Just below this home, a new house, close to the site of
the Walker Mansion, is being built with huge cellars.
Roger Safier, contractor, and a crew of 12, are building
an 8,000 square foot house which may be the retreat
early reports mentioned. Safier said it will be one story.
Safier hires the subcontractors, he said.

Up hill, the barn has been remodeled to make it
earthquake proof, its foundation braced by rocks.

Other sources said the top of Walker Mountain will
be blasted off to make room for vast, underground
vaults to store church documents, but that work
has been delayed until steel arrives. A new road into
the area is being built and can be seen from Ocean
House, it was pointed out.

The Church of Spiritual Technology not only bought
the Walker Ranch in 1984, but later, the Francis Cook
ranch next to it, Ouelette said, and Bill Brandstetter is
running about 200 head of cattle on the land. Ouelette
said he will be here in January. (A) former sign read
"Welcome;" now its "Road Work Ahead."

"Church of Spiritual Began Buying Land in 1980"
(Note: Title is inaccurate; First purchase was in 1984)
Ferndale Enterprise 12-28-1989

The Church of Spiritual Technology began buying
land in The Mattole in 1980 (note: 1984) and is paying
taxes on the more than 3,000 acres it owns there,
according to reports in the (Humboldt) County Assessor's
Office.

The county apparently has given permission to the church
to build its "quasi-public archival storage facility" for
church documents and a new "primary residence" on the
land on which two ranch houses already exist.

One, the former Ben Walker home, has been remodeled
for the present caretaker. The new house, 400 feet away,
is in the process of being constructed and has a deep
basement, with a ramp big enough for a truck. It is
supposed to be for "operations of the farm."

The Planning Department, according to a letter to the
church, also looks favorably on the construction of
a retreat, saying "...other similar recreational uses have
in the past been determined to be compatible with these
zones."

Zones referred to are Agricultural Exclusive and Timber
Production. The letter was written by Thomas Conlon,
Planning Director.

There are also reports of a paved, two lane road built,
leading to the mountain top vault, and no record, thus
far, of an Environmental Impact Report. An unpaved
road was in place.

Neither Conlon, nor Linda Evans, who was said to be
in charge of the church file, nor Kirk Gothier, second
to Conlon, was available for comment.

The church has given various addresses: 5265
Fountain Avenue, Hollywood; Leo Johnson,
314 West Fifth Street, San Bernardino; Michel Oullette,
Box 183, Petrolia; and in care of R.H. Emmerson and
Son, Box 90614, Redding, although unconfirmed reports
say paychecks to construction crews are coming from
Whittier. A.A. Emmerson, the son of R.H. Emmerson,
is President of Sierra Pacific Industries.

"Church May Need Permit for Vault"
Ferndale Enterprise 1/4/1990

The Church of Spiritual technology may need a permit
for its vault to store church documents. According to
Thomas Conlon, county planning director, the church
said state geologists have told it no permit is needed
to excavate on Walker Mountain for the vault.

Conon said the matter is now under review. Michel
Oullette, spokesman, said earlier the church has 45
members and the vault was needed to store church
records or documents. Unconfirmed reports say
excavation has started and the vault will be lined
with steel.

Conlon said a use permit was issued for the new
8,000 square foot home now being built some 400
feet from the present caretaker's residence, but
the church does not need a permit to build a paved
road on its own property, nor is an Environmental
Impact Report required.

No permit has yet been applied for or granted for
the retreat home the Church of Spiritual Technology
has mentioned.

At Public Works, Don Raffaelli, who is in charge of
maintenance, said the Old Mattole Road was
widened by the county, in conjunction with the
church, at the bridge to permit trucks towing mobile
homes to cross. Raffaelli also said a slip near the
bridge was repaired to save the county from liability.

"Former Grandeur: The Walker Ranch House"
Ferndale Enterprise
June 26, 1986

The last original building on the Walker Ranch and, perhaps,
the oldest building in Petrolia, was burned to the ground on
Mother's Day.

The fire was authorized by Leo Johnson, principal for the
Church of Spiritual Technology (misidentified as "Church of
Science and Technology" in the original article), Los Angeles
owners of the property, who declared the building an
eyesore.

It was a controlled fire, supervised by the Petrolia Volunteer
Fire Department.

Situated on Sunset View Ranch, the building was once part
of the original Walker ranch house. The drill accomplished
what time and the weather had failed to do.

The Walker brothers, Jesse, John and Ben, crossed the
plains in a covered wagon with their parents, first settling
in Hydesville. The brothers came to Petrolia in 1858 looking
for land.

They liked what they saw and eventually owned approximately
5,000 acres of Walker Mountain. They used the "10" brand
on their cattle, which was registered to John Walker on
May 10, 1859, making it one of the oldest brands in Humboldt
County.

Later Ben moved back to Hydesville and the ranch was divided
between Jesse and John. Jesse took the lower end of the
mountain and named it "Sunset View Ranch."

About 1885, the "new" house was built. Having 22 large rooms
it was a "mansion" for these Petrolia hills. It served as home
for three generations of the Walker family. By about 1955 the
house was beyond repair as it had gone through several
severe earthquakes and many fierce Petrolia winters.

The owner at that time was the late Merle Walker of Scotia,
a great-nephew of the original owner, Jesse Walker.
He decided to build a new house further out on the ridge
and tear the old one down, leaving two rooms of the old
house, namely the wash room and the wood shed to be
used as a family museum. These rooms were filled with
old mementos of the house and ranch buildings.

About a dozen firefighters were on the scene at 9a.m.
when the fire was lit with occasional stops and goes to
let them practive on suppressing fires. As the wind picked
up, it was allowed to burn completely --- which was about
11 a.m.

Fire Chief Jim Longnecker mentioned that as it burned
sounds came from the fire of "bullets going off." They found
some square shingle nails and round nails later in the ashes.

The Church of Science and Technology (sic) bought the
ranch two years ago to serve as a summer retreat.

In 1955 when the original ranchhouse was razed, the
Coast Guard requested that the gum tree nearby not be
cut down but be left there as a "bearing."