Heritage USA/PTL History (Charlotte: credit card, how much, lawyers)
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I want to hear all and everything from the people that were around Charlotte during the era of Heritage USA/PTL. I've been wanting to post this for a while, with the Jinwrights going to jail I thought it's a good time.
I recently saw the film "Eyes of Tammy Faye", I had no idea the size of their empire (only behind Disney in tourist). I want to hear from people who worked there. The opinions people had about the Bakker's (before and after). Did it's presence help spawn more religious activities? What was the economical impact upon it's closing? How crazy was Charlotte during the trial? Etc....
Just looking for a good informative history lesson/discussion/stories, anything you have to add is welcome.
While I wasn't here in 1984 when PTL started Heritage USA, I did move here during it's downfall in the late '80's.
If memory serves, Bakker was blackmailed by Jessica Hahn in 1987 to the tune of about $250,000+ and the Charlotte Observer was instrumental in uncovering all the corruption which lead to charges against the Bakkers.
I was actually called for jury duty in Jim Bakkers trial but was dismissed because I had a newborn baby whom I was still breastfeeding. News coverage was as overdone as you would expect, with CNN trucks parked uptown for weeks.
The most memorable day of the trail was when Jim, showing his true colors as a sissy coward, curled up in the fetal position under his lawyers desk before being drug off to court, a basket case.
Judge Potter sentenced him to 45 years for fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud. He served less than 5 years, which didn't surprise me. I'm guessing he and Tammy didn't serve time for tax evasion because when confronted they did agree to pay up the approximate $3 million they owed.
It came out during the trial that in addition to his relationship with Jessica Hahn, Jim had a long time homosexual relationship with his assistant David Taggert. If I recall, Taggert served jail time too, though I can't say for sure how much or what his conviction was exactly for. I also wondered it THAT relationship was the one that caused Tammy Faye to file for divorce.
The extent of the hugely lavish lifestyle Jimmy and Tammy led also came out at trial. In addition to exhorbitant salaries they granted themselves, and the bonuses they collected in the millions, I remember the big talk of the town was the over the top dog house they had built for their dog with central air and heat.
For a few years after the trial, Heritage USA limped along.
I can tell you, the water park there was really nice and I hated that someone didn't salvage it and keep it running. We actually took my son and his friends there for the day to celebrate his 13th birthday in 1996. The wave pool was better than the one at Carowinds.
I worked there right after Jim went to prison. Was very strange there, I worked in the "back" on the farm. They spent a lot of money there so it was always a beautiful place.
I used to walk around a lot and ride horses throughout the property. So many people used to give him their $$ and live in tents and on campsites. There were some nice houses on the property and the water park was always a blast.
I can't stress the "strangeness" of the place at the time. It was a fun, care free time of my life so I have many memories. Once we sold all the horses and I didn't have much to do I would use our truck and move furniture and stuff...there was a place called the "Goodie barn" where they had all of the old PTL stuff stored. Pictures, albums, cameras and lots of boxes of letters!!!
Much like the Jinwrights they misused religion as their path to wealth. They put themselves on pedestals and boo-hooed when they were knocked off of them. They said they "made mistakes" as if a lifetime of cheating, lying, stealing, infidelity and deceiving were only a couple isolated events, rather than glaring examples of people who did little to uphold the principles they touted.
This T-shirt was popular. Tammy Faye was usually made up like a clown, yet another testament to her materialistic and superficial mentality.
I recently moved to Fort Mill but im really into finding abandon buildings and places. I drove around there and put some video upon my youtube channel, http://www.youtube.com/daysofthundr46
I also have been following the new owners on facebook. The barn has been fixed up, and the upper room is going to be reopened next year. They are saying its possible more will be done.
The original PTL campus was the current site of Forest Hill church on Park Road, they moved out to Heritage USA in the late 70s.
It was booming by the mid 80s and it was impressive by any standards, it was absolutely Disney-esque.
These years later, the water park was hands down the best I have ever experienced, and I wish my kids could enjoy it like I did at their age.
Heritage USA had a Christmas light display which was a huge draw as well, it took a good 1.5-2 hrs to get though it all.
The whole demise was odd, but not entirely shocking to the local community, it had just $piraled so far out of control.
I always felt sorry for their children and what they must have gone through.
I know Jay (son) started a few churches, and went through a messy divorce.
I was here during it all and can say that my parents would take us out there a lot. We never were pressured or felt uncomfortable before the scandal. We always felt like we got more then our moneys worth when we were there. The Christmas light display has never been matched nor has the Fourth of July fireworks. It was a beautiful place before the downfall. I do know people up north that gave money and bought in at the time. Everyone I know felt like they got their money out of it. They were never turned away at any point. I think one of the arguments was that PTL they oversold the timeshares. I think my parents looked at it as an economical & safe place to take us kids. We had a ton of fun going to the Christmas display in a big van. My Dad would take us a couple times per season.
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PTL got started in the mid-70's. At first they were kind of small time, and broadcast out of a location on Park Road. You would find their show on UHF channel 36, I believe, which was a low-power station back in those days.
They were the subject of merciless attacks by the radio stations, who had a daily "Pass the Loot" segment. Funny as hell (no pun intended there).
We used to call them during their frequent telethons and see if we could get them to repeat funny names on the air as donors (stuff like "Hugh G. Rection just pledged $40!"). We'd also call and try to shock the people taking the calls - you could see them in the background, and we'd call and make outrageous statements to them and see if we could tell, on the TV, who we were talking to by their reactions. (I was in junior high at the time, by the way).
One time Jim and Tammy came into the Revco pharmacy where I worked on Independence (Amity Gardens Shopping Center), and I swear I am not making this up, Tammy bought a huge bagful of makeup. Probably only a week's supply for her, as she tended to overdo the makeup, to say the least. I make them show ID for their credit card purchase.
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