TIME first wrote about Marshall Applewhite and his group in 1975. Four years later the magazine interviewed Paul Groll, a follower of Applewhite and Bonnie Lu Nettles (then known as Bo and Peep), for a story in the Aug. 27, 1979, issue on their secret camp. An excerpt:
Each minute, 24 hours a day, a musical beep sounds across the camp from a command tent ("Central"). During the day, at 12-beep intervals, the disciples check Central for their next task. Among their duties: camp chores, perimeter guarding and stints as "rotating eyes" (monitoring campers' conduct and reporting violations).
Bo and Peep...