Pn 07/26 1222 Survival Community By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS Associated Press Writer.

Pn  07/26  1222  Survival  Community  By  NICHOLAS  K.  GERANIOS
Associated Press Writer.

   GOLDENDALE, Wash. (AP) -- Amid the fir trees and hills of  the
Klickitat  Valley,  Larry  and Meg Letterman are putting in a hot
tub while waiting for disaster.

   The Lettermans are creators of Ponderosa Village, a 1,000-acre
"intentional community" whose  residents  hope  to  ensure  their
survival in the social upheavals they see on the horizon.

	They  say  they are not survivalists, not a religious sect and
not a commune.

   They are just people who are equipping their  elaborate  homes
with bomb  shelters  and  large stocks of food.  They value their
distance from  large  urban  areas,  where  they  sense  disaster
looming.

   "There  is  a  greater chance of mishap and social disorder in
the cities," said the 67-year-old Letterman.

   "Our emphasis is on being prepared  for  whatever  might  come
down the pike," said his wife, who's 68.

   Something  as  simple as a truckers' strike could bring chaos,
they contend.

   "The supply of food in larger cities is down from  2  days  to
1-1  1/2  days,"  Letterman  said. "Just a ripple in the trucking
system could cause riots in large cities."

   Cities also breed disease,  stress,  pollution  and  political
upheaval,  and  would  be  targets  in  nuclear  warfare, say the
Lettermans.

   To prepare, they are  developing  a  community  where  members
would  have  their  own stored food, seeds, water source, medical
supplies, tools and "means of self-defense."

   "I don't want to give the impression we're wearing  robes  and
waiting  for  doomsday  to  come," Letterman said. "It's not like
that."

   But part of the allure is  that  the  southcentral  Washington
development  is  70  miles  from  Yakima,  Wash.,  120 miles from
Portland, Ore., and  210  miles  from  Seattle,  according  to  a
brochure.

   In a time of upheaval, people will stream out of those cities,
heading into the country for safety, they said.

   "Access  to  Ponderosa  Village  is  restricted  by mountains,
rivers, forest lands, number of approach  roads  and  entrances,"
the brochure says, "making protection feasible."

   Ponderosa  Village,  built on a heavily forested hillside, has
the aura of a summer camp, with its  wood-sided  homes,  red-dirt
forest trails and whistling winds.

   No   weapons   were  evident  when  an  AP  reporter  visited.
Letterman said residents had agreed not  to  discuss  weapons  or
food and equipment stockpiles, leaving those to the discretion of
individual families.

   About  50  five-acre  parcels  have  been sold, to people from
places like Long Island, N.Y.,  Seattle,  Texas,  California  and
even Switzerland,  Letterman  said.    Undeveloped  parcels  cost
$9,000 to $15,000.

   So far 13 families, a  total  of  32  people,  have  taken  up
residence  in  this development about five miles from Goldendale,
population about 3,500.

   The Lettermans say it is coincidence that they chose to locate
just 100 miles north of Rajneeshpuram, the now-disbanded  commune
where Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh moved his sect in 1981.

   Unlike Rajneesh, the Lettermans have drawn little attention.

   "There  are  a  lot  of  good  people who live up there," said
Sheriff Jim Gleason, who declined to say whether his  office  had
received any complaints about the development.

   Steven   Anderson,   former  county  planner,  said  the  only
complaints came from inside the development and involved internal
regulations.

   "People were complaining that when they bought  the  lot  they
didn't  understand  the fine print," said Anderson, now a private
consultant.

   One of the complainers was Tim Urchenko, a  former  industrial
engineer  from  Dallas,  who  was  upset by rules restricting the
cutting of trees.

   "I like the property and the people have been good except  for
the  problem  with  all  the rules," said Urchenko, who now makes
intricate boxes and sells them at craft shows.

   "When you come from the city, you are living with all kinds of
people around you and you're used to rules," Urchenko said.  "But
then you move out here ... and you think, `Why do we need this?"'

   The  Lettermans  moved  to  the  development  from  Los Altos,
Calif., in 1982, five years after acquiring the land  for  a  sum
they will not disclose.

   Since that time they have marked off 200 parcels, put in roads
and  a  water  system,  bought  a  fire truck and built their own
spectacular house.

   The 3,000-square  foot  residence  includes  a  new  hot  tub,
attached  greenhouse, satellite dish and a root cellar where they
store everything  from   dried   beans   to   champagne.      The
earth-covered root cellar doubles as a bomb shelter.

   The  land  is  nearly  paid off and all improvements have been
paid for in cash, so the remaining debt is small, the  Lettermans
said.

   They  recruit like-minded people through ads in magazines like
Mother Earth News and Mother Jones.  They also advertise  in  New
Age religious publications.  They have been New Age followers, as
are  75  percent of the development's residents, according to Meg
Letterman.

	"People ask if this is a religious sect," she said.  "No,  but
preparedness is its own religion."

   There  is  a  community  meditation  chapel as well as a stone
gathering circle, where residents occasionally  get  together  to
share beliefs, she said.

   Prospective  buyers  are told they will be required to conform
to the principles of self-reliance and to contribute to  building
community spirit.    The  Lettermans  say they do not want people
dependent on "handouts."

   Instead, they want people who can find work in area industries
or who can create their own jobs.  Current residents work in  the
nearby  aluminum  mill, or as nurses, printers, computer analysts
and in arts and crafts.

   Meg Letterman was editor  of  National  Reporter,  a  magazine
published by the Zero Population Growth organization, while Larry
was an Air Force officer working with military satellites.

   They  wanted  to escape cities, but at the same time they were
not interested in small towns, which can be  an  "ingrown  tribal
society" where they would not be accepted, Letterman said.

   "We  thought  it  was better to start some sort of a community
with people with similar interests," he said.

   Ponderosa Village is not a back-to-the-earth commune.

   While  many  people  have  their  own  vegetable  gardens  and
orchards, large-scale  farming  is not possible.  The emphasis is
on stocking canned and dried foods.

   The houses  are  modernistic  and  elaborate,  some  featuring
geodesic dome designs and natural heating and cooling systems.

   The  Lettermans  provide  a  lending  library  with over 2,000
titles, many of them do-it-yourself books.

   The community is not utopian or communal, but is held together
by its families, Letterman said.

   "Utopian is a fantasy or a dream," he said. "You can come here
and increase your awareness of life."