Peoples Temple Collection; Box 13, Virtual item 3, Q313 - Jonestown meeting discusses Ryan's arrival (November 10, 1978) | Special Collections & University Archives
Recorded a week before the arrival of Rep. Leo Ryan’s party in Guyana in November 1978, this tape is of a community in crisis. The people of Jonestown know the delegation is coming, and that it will be filled with the relatives whom Jim Jones has been lambasting for months, with members of the press, and with representatives of the U.S. government. No one knows how long their enemies will be in Guyana, whether they will be able to get into Jonestown, or what the community would do if the unwelcome guests appear. Jim Jones is alternately concerned, perplexed, angry, and defiant. The snatches of conversation with the residents of Jonestown, including Marceline Jones – Jones spontaneously edited the tape with the on/off switch on his microphone, and many responses are cut off after a few words – reveal a weariness and apprehension in reaction to their perceptions of threat, both external and internal.
Full summary of the recording available at Alternative Considerations of Jonestown website, along with the tape transcript.
Series 2: Audiovisual Materials, 1957-2019 Sub-Series 1: Audio Cassette Tapes, Summaries, and Transcripts, 1957-1979, 2019 Sub-Series 1: Audio Cassette Tapes, 1958-1978 Box 10 Item 30: Q313 - Jonestown meeting discusses Ryan's arrival, November 10, 1978