-Caveat Lector- Jun 4, 2001 16:00 EDT Father of Children in Idaho Stalemate Came From Prominent Boston Family By Justin Pope Associated Press Writer BOSTON (AP) - He lived "off the grid" in the forests of Idaho, and his children were raised to fear and distrust the government. But Michael McGuckin was hardly a typical mountain man, with roots in a well-known Boston family and a prep-school education from Groton. McGuckin, who suffered from multiple sclerosis, died May 12 of dehydration and malnutrition. His wife, JoAnn, was arrested last week on child-neglect charges, triggering a five-day standoff at their home between their children and authorities outside Garfield Bay, Idaho. One of the children surrendered Thursday, and the remaining five gave up on Saturday after negotiators promised to try to help them stay together. Deputies had waited them out because the children were believed to be armed. The confrontation surprised people who had known McGuckin as a polite and engaging entrepreneur and a talented musician. "He was an enormously likable, highly successful, highly intelligent man," Francis Laidlaw, the former husband of Michael McGuckin's sister, said Monday. "He was not a separatist in any way, shape or form - the antithesis of that." But classmates of McGuckin's at Groton, the prestigious Massachusetts boarding school, said they had few memories of him even though there were just 44 students in the class of 1957, and one remembered him as an unfriendly oddball. "I don't know of a single person who fit the definition of a friend of his," recalled classmate Jonathan Yardley, now the book editor and a columnist at The Washington Post. "He was not a friendly guy." McGuckin's father was a Harvard-educated stockbroker and his mother was a Shreve, of the well-known Boston jeweler Shreve Crump & Low Co. After Groton, McGuckin ended up with Yardley at the University of North Carolina, where Yardley said he continued to carry "a chip on his shoulder." McGuckin later served in the Army, where he learned to speak Arabic, and then started a number of businesses, including a furniture company. But his attempt to build a sawmill in Idaho failed and the family fell into poverty and reportedly became increasingly withdrawn, rejecting help from neighbors. "It's just incomprehensible to me," Laidlaw said. "He was a veteran for one thing, and certainly if they were without funds he could have gone to some VA hospital and gotten some relief. But he was a proud man." "He was a back-to-the land type person, but he had a purpose to go there," Laidlaw said. "He was even talking at one time of establishing a haven for underprivileged children." The last time Laidlaw spoke with McGuckin was three years ago. McGuckin was already suffering the effects of his disease, but it was mentioned only briefly as they discussed music. McGuckin played several styles of guitar and Arabic instruments. "At the end of the conversation I said I always loved the way he played," he said. "And the sad part was when he said he couldn't even hold an instrument anymore." This story can be found at : http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAYVJJNKNC.html <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
