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Intro: When Third Eye Over Iowa first started out, a Journalism Professor from the University of Iowa was researching a Project that coincidently involved our oft-lampooned town of Emmetsburg, Iowa. By way of a friend of a friend, we thought the Professor would appreciate Third Eye Over Iowa and sent him the first two copies of the magzine.
I assumed that the content of our first two issues---and the ad for "Imperial Condoms"---should have conveyed what Third Eye Over Iowa was doing and that this Journalism Professor was in on the joke. Several times Todd and I told each other, "He's gotta know this is just fake; he's just playing along." But we were very wrong....
Unbeknownst to Todd and myself, we had dangled a hook baited with the most succulent of fat, tasty, wriggling morsels. This fish went for it: hook, line, sinker, tackle box, dock, "and copy of Angling Times". It would have been a simple thing to have clubbed it on the head then have it stuffed and mounted. But because we could foresee unhappy consequnces, we let this walleye go.Because they were such a good sport about the whole Kafuffle (and for fear of having my metaphor sued right off), I have deleted the individual's name as well as the title of his book and it's publisher and any other reference that may readily identify them.
Note: the > symbol followed by text indicates my email messages to this individual.
Editors:
Congratulations on "Third Eye Over Iowa." Clearly, you touch upon
subjects that receive scant, if any, attention in the mainstream media.
I was especially throttled at references to Emmetsburg, IA. My major
research area is alternative journalism and alternative political groups
and ideas. A major segment of my research was published in book form in
1994, "Project xxxx." Please check the web page www.a book seller.com and execute a title search for
"Project xxxx." There, you will find summaries of that research and
reviews (and, of course, an opportunity to actually order the book).
It is intriguing to me that the author of the so-called "xxxx Files"
of the 1970s was a man named Bruce Roberts, whose father La Verne Dayle
Roberts was born in Emmetsburg. The senior Roberts worked for Bethlehem
Steel and halped build Aristotle Onassis' oil tankers.
The Onassis family is linked to the Illuminati and, hence, to occult
teachings. I always wondered about La Verne Dayle Roberts' background.
However, I have endeavored to find out information about La Verne Dayle
Roberts through Emmetsburg-area historians and have failed to find any
traces of the Roberts family history or the old "xxxx Files."
If you read "Project xxxx," you will see a breakdown and cross-reference
of Bruce Roberts' theories. It is, essentially, a fanciful "conspiracy theory" but has some
truthful roots with regard to early 20th-century maritime history.
Would the University of Emmetsburg have any information or background
pertaining to Bruce Roberts, or La Verne Dayle Roberts? Thank you for
your kind attention, and thank you for the "Third Eye Over Iowa."
A Journalism Professor
Date: Sat, 13 Jul 1996 00:19:43 -0500 (CDT)
From: A Journalism Professor@uiowa
To: VTrollinger@uiowa
Subject: Re: xxxx Files
On Fri, 12 Jul 1996, VTrollinger wrote:
> Thank you for your letter. I am sorry for making you wait for so
> long for a reply to your email.
>
> Mr. Abbadon was genuinely interested in the xxxx Files.
> Regretfully, his attentions are lately consumed by a large scale project at
> the B. Lavatsky Museum in Hopkins Grove. Likewise, Mr. Ristau showed equal
> interest, but recently he vanished without trace while illegally touring
> the grounds of the Massaraty Assylum near Mt. Pleasant. We are not
> concerned as he frequently disappears under such circumstances and
> likewise, frequently resurfaces unscathed.
Mr. Ristau did attempt phone contact recently. He left a
voicemail message at my office phone. I have yet to
make a connection, however.
> I did however, brooch the subject of the Roberts family to the
> curator of the Rare Books Collection at the University of Emmetsburg. They
> do have papers belonging to both Bruce and La Verne Dayle Roberts but, as
> with many rare and troublesome curiosities nowadays, an injunction has been
> placed on the U of E requiring it to deny all public access to the papers
> until positive proof of ownership has been made. I have been told the
> plaintiff is, oddly enough, the B. Lavatsky Museum.
Thank you for this extraordinary disclosure. Would you have any idea who
placed such an injunction, and why it was approved by the courts? Would
it help to state that none of Mr. Roberts' family remains alive? What
about even limited access to the Roberts papers by caring, reasoned
researchers? My search for the truth surrounding the Gemstone thesis has
been lifelong. What exactly is the B. Lavatsky Museum, and who could be
contacted to arrange access to the Roberts material? My life would be
changed dramatically for the better should that be allowed.
> At any rate, I must now ask the obligatory marketing questions of:
> "How did you hear of 3rd/i?"
I was mailed a complimentary copy. My main research area here is
alternative journalism and alternative political groups and ideas. I
would assume the publishers of 3rd/i would have been informed as to my
background and desire to bring alternative, albeit, controversial, topics
to public light. Furthermore, "Project xxxx" has become somewhat of an
underground sensation of late, especially in Europe.
> "Where did you obtain your copy of 3rd/i?"
Apparently, directly from the publisher
> "What is the precise year, date, and time of your birth?"
I was born in July in xxxxxxxxx. My birth certificate
does not have a time of birth, but my mother has stated that is was early
morning, around 1 a.m. It would not be difficult to confirm
the time of my birth with some further research. One anomaly: I was born
with a large xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx.
It was surgically removed soon after birth. It alarmed my parents, but
doctors insisted it was of no substantial importance.
> We expect our web site to materialize about mid-August. The address
> is not yet known but will be published in 3rd/i in the August issue. Thank
> you for your interest in 3rd/i and the information on the xxxx Files.
> ----Vernon Trollinger, editor
And I thank you for giving me at least a glimmer of hope of ultimately
resolving the questions surrounding the xxxx Files.> >
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 13:19:59 -0500 (CDT)
From: A Journalism Professor@uiowa
To: VTrollinger@uiowa
Subject: Re: xxxx Files
My apologies for a lengthy delay in responding to your correspondence.
I stand somewhat thunderstruck at some of the stories in your
publication, "Third Eye Over Iowa." As a journalist, I am interested in
looking into some of these instances in more detail, particularly the
piece on your missing reporter at the front of your current edition.
I must also confess that I am literally blown away by your disclosure of
existing La Verne/Bruce Roberts writings in Emmetsburg. If there has been
anything that has dominated much of my thinking over the past 20 years,
it has been the so-called "Skeleton Key to the xxxx Files" which has
long been in the public domain.
However, the existence of these writings has unleashed within me a strong
current of sudden physical, emotional and spiritual nervousness and
uncharacteristic discontent. Only a careful perusal of these writings wil
settle my soul on this front.
I have searched for descendants of the Roberts family and find that none
remain alive. Bruce Roberts died in 1976, the year I discovered the
xxxx Files while attending college.
With all of the Roberts family no longer living, is it now possible to
gain access to any of the Emmetsburg repository, if only to close out
this turbulent period of my life?
I realize that "proof of ownership" is required, according to the court
order to which you refer. However, I would ask that the plaintiff, the
Lavatsky Museum, in the interest of furthering human understanding into
the unknown, grant me at least a limited glance at these writings.
Many questions remain on this issue that I could not answer with 'Project xxxx' (1994, Bxxxxxx House, 1-800-xxx-xxxx), the only attempt at
journalistically attempting to verify the original Roberts allegations
contained within the xxxx thesis.
I know of no other researchers who have the ability to interpret the
Roberts writings as I do. However, unless I am allowed to view the
documents in question, this scholarly perspective might soon be lost to
history.
I would appreciate any feedbeck on this issue, and please stay in touch.
Many thanks,
A Journalism Professor
On Fri, 30 Aug 1996, VTrollinger wrote:
> Thank you for your interest in the Black 11 case. We hope to
> recover Ms. Shepard soon.
> I recently spoke very briefly to Mr. Catherwood, Head of the Rare
> Books Collection at the University of Emmetsburg. He seemed very
> nervous---if not afraid---and bluntly refused to discuss anything about the
> xxxx Files, the Roberts Family, or the suit with the B. Lavatsky
> Museum. Mr. Catherwood may be a bookish old codger but he has the heart of
> a bull rhinocerous. I'm mystified by his behavior. I hope that other
> interests haven't decided to take a hand in the matter.
> Meanwhile, I have heard through Henry Kramer, Head of Aquisitions
> at B. Lavatsky, that Mr. Abadon himself may indulge your request to see the
> Roberts papers. I think Mr. Ristau will be in touch with you---or so I've
> been told. Because I'm designing the web site, I'm treated like a
> mushroom...
>
> hear from you soon,
> Vernon Trollinger, Editor
Date: Fri, 30 Aug 1996 12:40:05 -0500 (CDT)
From: A Journalism Professor@uiowa
To: VTrollinger@uiowa
Subject: Re: U of E Rare Books Collection
Thank you for your prompt reply. As your experience has probably taught,
matters of the mind and spirit can seldom be addressed through courts of
law. My spirit simply has never been settled regarding the xxxx
issue, and my detailed work into the matter only served to further
confuse things. Please alert anyone connected with the Roberts papers
that I can forward to them a copy of my 1994 work, "Project xxxx," which
should answer any questions pertaining to my sincerety about this issue.
Again, many thanks.--XXX
On Fri, 6 Sep 1996, VTrollinger wrote:
> So you talked to Todd.
> Sorry to have disappointed you after leading you down such a long,
> tempting path. I thought you knew. Well, better to have cleared it up now
> than wind up driving the 5 ugly hours to Emmetsburg to face embarrassment
> and public ridicule; and then resort to a horrible vengence that would most
> certainly ruin both our lives and credit ratings.
> Still, I had to laugh.
> And since you know we'd be happy to have you contribute, I thought
> you'd like to know that next month is our REAL & FACTUAL ghost story issue
> with stories concentrating on Iowa City and other environs---enough to fill
> the 24-28 pages. November is wide open. Submissions should be 1000-1500
> words, typed or floppy disk. Floppy submissions should be in RTF format,
> though TEXT would be okay--but it looses italic and bold effects. I use a
> MAC, but PC files can be accessed. You know about the "Abandoned Towns of
> Iowa" book, but there are others not included since it was published. I
> think the Main UI library has it.
> ------V*****
Date: Fri, 6 Sep 1996 14:57:22 -0500 (CDT)
From: A Journalism Professor@uiowa
To: VTrollinger@uiowa
Subject: Re: That very rare book collection...
How are you so sure I wasn't stringing YOU along?
Anyway, the 3rdi ruse has been exposed! I promise I won't tell. Like I
was saying to Todd, it is not always evident from a surface viewpoint
that a fabricated scenario is false. In fact, some "disinformation" can
often have a kernel of truth as its inspiration ... hence, my own
preoccupation with the xxxx Files and Bruce Roberts. (By the way,
LaVerne Dayle Roberts, Bruce's dad, WAS born in Emmetsburg) ... XXX
On Sat, 7 Sep 1996, VTrollinger wrote:
> Ah, but you see I knew that you knew and so I was merely playing along in a
> clever, diabolical way so that if you knew that I knew that you knew...
> You are right about the kernal of truth. As Ollie North put it so
> susinctly, "The truth was the reason not to put forward that version of the
> facts."
> You see, I do have a good friend living in E-burg. He went to
> school here at UI and did baddly in German. I used to address letters to
> him as "Dean of Germanic Studies, University of Emmetsburg". He recently
> ran for mayor, coming in a respectable second in a field of four. Anyway,
> I will ask him if he knows anything about the Roberts Family or if any
> relatives still in town. I wouldn't put much hope in him as he is quite
> legally blind and rarely leaves his parents house. Seriously. I am most
> earnest. Meanwhile, have you tried going through the State Historical
> Society to glean some tidbits on LaVerne Dayle Roberts? They may have
> copies of courthouse records, though I'm not sure. The UI map collection
> also has the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for various towns in Iowa---if the
> Roberts owned property in E-burg, they may show up on these maps which
> were compiled from the 1880's onward (or so I believe). They are HIGHLY
> DETAILED and very accurate. When I was an archeologist in Richmond, VA,
> they were indispensible at several sites. Property owners names are on
> these maps.
> But then again, do you really have time for all that digging.
> Oh, by the way, I used to live in Bethlehem, PA a few years ago.
> Just five blocks from the main gate to Bethlehem Steel. My wife attended
> Lehigh University. If LaVerne Roberts worked for Beth. Steel, did he work
> at the main office or out at Sparrows' Point? There is a possibility that
> Lehigh University---which maintains a close connection to Bethlehem
> Steel---as well as aquiring one or two of its old office buildings---may
> have some further information. Much of it may be engineering stuff, but
> who knows. It's Library is online, but I'm not sure how extensive. Hope
> this is more helpful--if not more factual. Hear from you soon------V*****
Date: Sat, 7 Sep 1996 23:43:28 -0500 (CDT)
From: A Journalism Professor@uiowa
To: VTrollinger@uiowa
Subject: Re: E-burg and then some
LaVerne Dayle Roberts worked at the Sparrows Point plant, helping Onassis
build his oil tankers, from what I have been able to determine. Bruce
Roberts himself was born in New York state. Thank you for those helpful
suggestions. As for "digging," I can assure you that the ideas you have
will not be any trouble for me to follow up on, since I am a "digger" who
goes a long way back ...