CA CA - Rose Cole, 16, Oakland, 1972 - #2

[PrivateEye56]

"Squares?"

Yep. "Squares" were people who came around Synanon for the game (called the "game club") and to socialize, but who didn't actually live there. Some Squares ended up moving in and became "Lifestylers". Synanon had an entire lexicon, but there were generally "Dopefiends" and "Squares". "Dopefiend" was a very general term for anyone with a character disorder. Think beatnik terminology. In 1972 there were about 1500 residents and about 1,000 squares coming around.

http://www.pinterest.com/thrifthound/synanon-my-cult-in-california/

 

[PrivateEye56]

Yep. "Squares" were people who came around Synanon for the game (called the "game club") and to socialize, but who didn't actually live there. Some Squares ended up moving in and became "Lifestylers". Synanon had an entire lexicon, but there were generally "Dopefiends" and "Squares". "Dopefiend" was a very general term for anyone with a character disorder. Think beatnik terminology. In 1972 there were about 1500 residents and about 1,000 squares coming around.

http://www.pinterest.com/thrifthound/synanon-my-cult-in-california/

This is a bit off-topic, but this is a clip of a news channel reporting a Synanon fundraising event in 1969 in the Oakland facility. I wasn't there (before my time), but I was able to spot my ex-husband (now deceased) in the crowd of guys. It's not very clear, but it will at least give you a picture of what Synanon Oakland looked like.

https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/189953

 

[Valmont1905]

I just ordered a book called Longtime Californ' - A Documentary Study of an American Chinatown.

"In these days of tragedy and uncertainty, it was a pleasure to seek escape in a beautiful presentation of the past. The Nees' work gives a most complete and engrossing portrait of San Francisco's Chinatown in the early 1970s. Through 400 intensive, but mostly informal, interviews, the authors developed a comprehensive picture of the crowded Chinese ghetto in the heart of the city, one of the oldest continuing ghettos in the USA."

Maybe it will help somehow in identifying people who might have known Rose. It was published in 1974, so my hope is that the interviews were from the time that Rose was there. I'll let you guys know when I get it and have a chance to go through it.

Odyssey, I have in my personal collection three other books that might help:

1.) San Francisco Chinatown: A Guide to Its History and Architecture, by Philip P. Choy

2.) Chinatown San Francisco, by Richard Reinhardt and Peter Perkins (mainly pictorial with a 1981 copyright)

3.) Season of the Witch, by David Talbot - covers a wide swath of San Francisco history from the late 1950s until 1982

My late uncle and aunt used to live in the Santa Rosa area and after they died I inherited many of their old books.

So if you need help filling in any historical gaps just let me know.

 

[Valmont1905]

Yes, Delancey Street is a spinoff of Synanon founded by John Maher, who was from Synanon. To my recollection, it wasn't in existence yet in 1972, though I could be wrong. The place young people went (also Synanon offshoot) was called CEDU.

I found this quote online:

"In 1971 Delancey Street began with 4 residents, a thousand dollar loan, and a dream to develop a new model to turn around the lives of people in poverty, substance abusers, former felons, and others who have hit bottom, by empowering the people with the problems to become the solution."

SOURCE: http://www.delanceystreetfoundation.org/ourstory.php

So while it was unlikely that Rose went there (wanting to distance herself from all things resembling Synanon), it was in existence when she was in San Francisco and she could have visited them if she wanted to.

 

[itsreenw]

click on link...this is one of Rose's letters

 

[Odyssey]

Wow, yes it does seem possible that she got caught up in this somehow. I'd read that there had been street gangs in Chinatown, but nothing in this much detail, thank you for posting this!

There were quite a few mentions of robbery, and I recall it mentioned somewhere that Rose said all her belongings were stolen at a bus stop.

 

[B.Cole]

Hi my name is Brian Cole i am the nephew of Rose Cole. I cant answer for my family being mute but I can say Rose is still missing and still loved by many. I have read 100% of tbis tjread but have a bad short trem memory. I can ckear up a few answers that anyone may have just ask. I dont want to leave anyone hanging after alk the hard work you alk have done. Billy Cole Roses step brother is my father

 

[PJFL]

Also I dont quite understand this website I'll do my best to figure it out. I can also be reached at briancole77@gmail.com

:Welcome1: Thanks for joining us, Brian!

 

[B.Cole]

Thx PJFL. Looks like one of my post was deleted! Huh. Think i may need to be verified first. Just responded to an e mail about that!

 

[itsreenw]

I just sent Yannette a message on FB asking if she's still interested in locating Rose. She has a photo album (2012) of Rose. She has Rose's pics along with Jesse Jr's pics and the mugshot of Pose. I told her we'd love her to come back to WS but understand if she doesn't.

 

[B.Cole]

I think I was 9 or 10 the last time I seen Pose. It was in Decatur, Al at my grandmothers house. Not sure if anyone in our family has heard from him since then. I liked Pose he was like my favorite uncle. No one understands why he dorsnt contact his family anymore.

 

[LadyL]

I don't think they're the same girl at all. Most especially, the eyes look like different colours.

The following is not my own doing, but I feel it warrants revisiting. Real credit should go to iNTERESTEDWOMAN and Pink Panther:

On 08-03-2007, iNTERESTEDWOMAN posted what is believed to be the last known photograph of Rose, which you can see at the following link:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=263&d=1186172329​

Later on 03-18-2010, Pink Panther followed up with one of the unidentified pre-1979 photos taken by convicted serial killer, Rodney Alcala. In particular, the following image here looks like a very close match:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/photos-e6frewxi-1225856802303?page=82​

Here is a second slightly different image:

http://www.scpr.org/blogs/offramp/2010/03/12/834/jrblog-alcala/​

Both of the latter two might very well be a sixteen-year-old girl.

Rodney Alcala has been placed in the Bay Area, albeit in 1977. Still, this may not have been his first visit:

In March 2011 investigators in Marin County, north of San Francisco, announced that they were "confident" that Alcala was responsible for the 1977 murder of 19-year-old Pamela Jean Lambson, who disappeared after making a trip to Fisherman's Wharf to meet a man who had offered to photograph her. Her battered, naked body was subsequently found in Marin County near a hiking trail. With no fingerprints or usable DNA, charges are unlikely to be filed, but police claimed that there is sufficient evidence to convince them that Alcala committed the crime.

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_Alcala#San_Francisco​

Now, I don't know for certain if the girls are, in fact, the same person. Nor do I know if this theory has been debunked elsewhere---if it has, please feel free to point it out! However, I feel not much attention has been paid to these photos and I'm wondering if there could be a possible match.

Note - Some of the girls in Alcala's photos have already been identified and not everyone pictured was a murder victim. Some survive to this day.

 

[B.Cole]

Also to help with a question that has been brought up repeatedly in this thread is my dad "Billy Cole" said he was told Rose in fact did make it back to MI fot her court date. But my granma was in Alabama tending to a sick family member. He said he cant remember where the other kids were on that day all he remembers is he was working and by that time he had moved out. Kids may have been in school i dont know. But he said Rose was in MI for her court date. After her court date she come by the house " the same house I grew up in " to see the others but no one was home so she went back to CA. Thats what my dad said he was told. He also told me that her dad Jesse told the kids and family not to worry about Rose anymore. He thinks she is alive and well he hopes but he doesnt know and is living her life under a new identity. He says he still loves her and hopes one day she will call. I hope she does before my grandma passes. My father is a private man and doesn't like to talk about it. If you knew his dad I think you would know why so I don't ask to much. But I kniw my grandmother I used to.live with her for a while and she is the type to turn the world upside down for her kids. I think Jesse had something to do with her disappearance or knows where she went. Hes dead now so he cant tell and wouldnt even if he could my dad says. He said all he knows is after her court date he told the family not to worry about Rose anymore.

 

[Tricia]

Please remember we cannot bring entire articles over and post them on Websleuths.

Please Bring 10% or less over and then link to the whole article.

Thank you

 

[Mouse]

September 2014 interview with/article about Paul Morantz, the anti-Synanon lawyer:

The Man Who Fought the Synanon Cult and Won

It doesn't mention Rose Cole or necessarily shed any new light on Synanon (for those who are familiar with its history), but it's a fascinating read. I was most interested in the mention of some Synanon neighbors who gave shelter to teens trying to escape from Synanon's clutches, and there's also a link to Morantz' own website, which has quite a collection of articles and information about Synanon, among other things. I don't follow this particular case well enough to know if Synanon is still considered a viable suspect in Rose Cole's disappearance, but as soon as I saw the article, I immediately thought, "Hey, there's a missing girl that had some connection with Synanon!" and thought you guys might be interested in the article--

Relevant links from the article above:

Doris Gambonini, a ranch woman who comforted Synanon refugees, dies at 80

http://www.paulmorantz.com/

 

[raindrops300]

Wondering if this couple could be the older couple she referred to staying with when she had a kidney infection. Just a thought.

 

[DagFizz]

This poor child's life reads like a Russian novel. I've just spent the past several hours going through both threads and I can't even begin to fathom what must've been going on in her headspace after she bolted from Synanon.

One thing I did notice is that there's a photo on the Synanon Museum website that looks a lot like her. I'd link the photo, but the website is set up to prevent hotlinking and routes everything through that main opening page. If you want to look, go to their website, click the checkbox to prove you're not a robot, and click on the "Synanon in Pictures" tab on the next page. Under the 1971 section, there's a "Betty D and teenagers" link to the photo. I've attached the photo below.

I keep looking at it and one minute it looks like her and the next, it doesn't. Just wondering what everybody else thought.

 

[itsreenw]

Hi All,
Sorry I've been MIA from the thread. I've been busy planning my wedding.
Earlier this week I got a FB friend request from Yannette (Rose's sister in law).
I accepted but haven't sent her a message yet. I'll do that this weekend. I'll keep everyone posted.

 

[PJFL]

This poor child's life reads like a Russian novel. I've just spent the past several hours going through both threads and I can't even begin to fathom what must've been going on in her headspace after she bolted from Synanon.

One thing I did notice is that there's a photo on the Synanon Museum website that looks a lot like her. I'd link the photo, but the website is set up to prevent hotlinking and routes everything through that main opening page. If you want to look, go to their website, click the checkbox to prove you're not a robot, and click on the "Synanon in Pictures" tab on the next page. Under the 1971 section, there's a "Betty D and teenagers" link to the photo. I've attached the photo below.

I keep looking at it and one minute it looks like her and the next, it doesn't. Just wondering what everybody else thought.

View attachment 62979

Sorry, but I don't think it looks like Rose. Also, Rose didn't go to Synanon until 1972, iirc.

 

[DagFizz]

Sorry, but I don't think it looks like Rose. Also, Rose didn't go to Synanon until 1972, iirc.

Yeah, I think you're right. The more I look at it, the less it looks like her. As for the year, the caption on the original photo on their website says it's "about 1971" so I figured there was a little wiggle room on the date.