Years ago PBS aired a mesmerizing documentary on the Jonestown Massacre and the history of the Peoples Temple—Jonestown: The Life and Death of the People’s Temple. I’d always heard the jokes about Kool-aid/poison/suicide but didn’t know the depths of the story. Well, it’s horrifying. These carefree teenagers splashing in the ocean, building new homes in Guyana and attending class are a bit unsettling after learning the grim future of the Peoples Temple.
![Peoples Temple members at rest stop, possibly Buttonwillow, California, on bus trip](https://www.teenagefilm.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Peoples-Temple-members-at-rest-stop-possibly-Buttonwillow-California-on-bus-trip--e1310682359722.jpg)
![Wesley Breidenbach (left) and Donny Casanova working, Jonestown, Guyana](https://www.teenagefilm.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Wesley-Breidenbach-left-and-Donny-Casanova-working-Jonestown-Guyana--e1310682478914.jpg)
![Young members of Peoples](https://www.teenagefilm.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Young-members-of-Peoples-.jpg)
![Peoples Temple members at the beach, location unknown](https://www.teenagefilm.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Peoples-Temple-members-at-the-beach-location-unknown--e1310682582709.jpg)
![Students in schoolroom, Jonestown, Guyana](https://www.teenagefilm.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Students-in-schoolroom-Jonestown-Guyana--e1310682717157.jpg)
Peoples Temple members Stephan Jones, Jimmy Jones Jr., and Lew Jones in Matthews Ridge, Guyana
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7IxGGfpSWk&group=Items
If you’re curious about the Peoples Temple, you can watch the entire doc on youtube.
via Online Archive of California