© 2009 by Elinor Barnes

Dr. Reams was negotiating for another property a few miles out of Tecate, an abandoned resort area.  So, after only a few weeks in the village, we moved out to this new facility.  This time, Dr. Reams had a pretty good staff in place to take care of the physical needs of the guests.  We began taking in more guests and operating a really efficient program.  We saw miracles begin to happen….people with severe arthritis were able to walk without assistance, several people who had had radiation and chemo for cancer and had been told they were going to die…suddenly came to life and began to participate in the activities of the retreat and eventually went home to live, not die. 

Lest you think that we won every battle with every disease, we did not, but I firmly believe that we did improve that quality of life for 99% of all who followed the program faithfully.  This allows for the very small percentage of those for whom the program did not work. It has always been our policy to be very honest with every client we ever had.  If we saw that there was no improvement in the test results, and that no detoxification was taking place, we would advise them of that fact.  We did not want to hold out false hope to anyone.  This is equally true today; however I will admit that it has happened rarely in the 30+ years that I have been counseling in RBTI.

One major factor of the program was that it gave hope to those whom the medical community had given up on. That alone influenced a positive reaction to the treatment; along with a sense of community that was built at the retreats which said, “We’re all in this together.”The entire staff contributed by getting to know each guest as an individual, listening to their stories and helping to build a sense of community.  The guests encouraged each other with the feeling that “We are a team, and we are all working toward the same goal…..restoration of a feeling of well-being as we bring the body into balance.”

We also had some fun moments; one of those happened on a warm morning as the guests were coming down the outside stairway from their rooms to go to breakfast in the main building.  Suddenly, one of the ladies (I recall her name being Irene), was about to step down when another woman screamed, “Watch out…..Snake!”  Well, let me tell you, Irene could have won a gold medal in the Olympics!  The snake slithered backward off the stair, and Irene sprinted down the stairs, around the pool and into the dining room ahead of all the competition!    I must tell you that was the fastest any of us had ever seen Irene move since she had been with us.  When we finally caught up with her (and stopped laughing hysterically), we calmed her down and even she was amazed at how fast she had run.  Luckily, she did not pack up and go home.  Actually, she became a bit of a celebrity and her athletic ability was a topic of conversation for several days.  She also became a good friend and we visited her at her home in Austin, TX sometime later.  She had recovered from some serious complications with rheumatoid arthritis and was doing extremely well.  Her husband was very grateful and even he got tested and started on the home program; we kept in touch for several years.  We often shared a chuckle over the snake episode.  Irene was very proud of her remarkable running ability.

In the midst of all this, the retreat had settled into a very good routine with guests arriving to go through the 10 day to 2 week program.  I was patiently awaiting Betty’s arrival in a few weeks, when everything was sent into a tailspin!  We had a call from someone in Tecate that the Federales were looking for Dr. Reams.  Why?  No one would tell us.  We placed a quick call to Fern, who was up in San Diego; she contacted Dr. Reams who was out of the state.  By the time several phone calls were made to various individuals in Mexico, it was determined that the Federales were coming out to close down the Retreat!  We were told to pack up and move out immediately! Panic struck as I tried to grasp this whole scenario.  I had approximately 20 clients in various stages of the program.  I had one young man who was very ill….lymphoma.  He had been with us only a few days.  Several others were nearly ready to go home.  Where was I going to take them all?  How were we going to get over the border and what about all our equipment, supplies, etc?  Needless, to say, I made many phone calls to Fern; she was trying to line up a motel for a couple of nights until we could make arrangements for everyone to travel home.

Meanwhile, everyone was packing up the lab and supplies we might need.  We tried very hard not to panic the guests and told them that we had to leave that day but that all arrangements would be made for them.  Really?  I didn’t have a clue as to where we were going and what we were going to do; I had to trust Fern to handle all those little details!           

By early evening, we had everything packed up.  A truck had arrived to transport our goods across the border and Fern had commandeered several cars for the journey to the ‘motel’.  This whole episode was a nightmare!  I was delighted when we at least got over the border without being stopped.  We proceeded to the motel…..an abandoned motel, actually.  It was fairly clean, but there were beds to be made up, our guests had not had their evening meal, and the kitchen left much to be desired!

I must have a guardian angel and he or she was working overtime that night!  One of the guests, a young man named John, who had nearly completed his program, said he would help me get the kitchen ready for the evening meal.  He got a couple of other guests who were willing to pitch in and, miraculously, they put together a light meal of salad, soup and fruit for all of us!  As they cleaned up the kitchen afterward, I met with the rest of the guests and explained that we were going to take them into San Diego the next day where Fern was making arrangements for transportation to their homes.  Naturally, they had lots of questions, many of which I could not answer, but I assured them that all would be well.  After we got all of them off to bed, I borrowed a car and went to the nearest telephone, called Betty and had a meltdown!  Truly, I am not a crybaby, but this was too much for me to handle.  Of course, there was nothing Betty could do, but at least she calmed me down and we talked about all that needed to be taken care of.  If there was ever a reason for abandoning the Reams program, this was it!  Needless to say, we didn’t do that. 

Next morning everyone got breakfast….thanks to John and his volunteers.  Fern arrived with the necessary travel arrangements, most of them for that day, and a few for the next day.  This meant one more day in this marvelous motel!  However, we persevered, everyone was cared for, we even got them tested, and we counseled those that we could, regarding what they were to do when they arrived home.  Actually, I think some of them regarded it as a bit of a lark….a story they could tell the folks back home about their adventure in Mexico!  I guess that was fortunate for us that they didn’t sue the retreat or Dr. Reams.  Of course, I don’t think anyone could collect on such a lawsuit!   Now, if it had happened in 2009, maybe…since we are such a litigious society.

Following the trauma of Tecate, I went home.  Betty had ended her commitment to our church camp, and we settled into a serene time of talking about the program, about never returning to the frenetic craziness of retreat life.  However, we should have known better than to say ‘never’.  You’d think that the ‘Escape from Tecate’ would have been enough to keep me firmly anchored at home. Instead, after a brief respite of a couple of months, we got another phone call from Fern.  Doc had a new retreat in Mexico, in the Baja, south of Tijuana.  Right on the ocean, absolutely beautiful, well organized…..does this sound like a sales pitch?  Dr. Reams really needed us! Sure he did!  We weren’t buying it at all. 

Then we began getting daily calls from Fern; Doc was desperately in need of us.  The retreat had the potential to take nearly 100 guests.  There was good housing in cabanas, the streets were lined with lovely trees, there were several buildings that could be used for lab work and for counseling.  How soon could we leave?   Betty and I just looked at each other.  Could we do this again?  We told Fern we would get back to her, and we began exploring the possibilities.  We finally decided that we needed more assurance that this was not going to turn into another Roanoke or Tecate situation.  we needed to be confident that expenses for travel would come to us first….we could ill afford to make that kind of a trip without some help.  It would also solidify the reality of a retreat.  Our next consideration was that we would take our car to Mexico and not be trapped in a situation where we had no way to leave as it had been in Teacte.  We also wanted some assurance of remuneration, since I had received very little pay for my last time in old Mexico.   Basically, we wanted some security.  It took several weeks for the travel stipend to appear; in fact, it was around the first part of January.  The promise of remuneration also came at the same time.  I don’t want any of you to think we were going to get rich, so I will tell you that Betty and I were going to receive $400.00 a week….for both of us!  Also, expenses for our car, gas, etc. would be included. I will also mention that guests were paying $1250 a week for the program; a companion not on the program got room and board for $625. 

So, in January 1979, off we went.  Since it was winter time, we decided to go directly south and then west to California.  It was a great trip across our country.  For 10 days, we leisurely made our way to our new adventure. Ole’!  

Meeting with Dr. Reams and Fern in San Diego at his home was really interesting.  He had acquired a solid lease on Plaza Santa Maria in the Baja.  Pictures of the new retreat were certainly spectacular and we began to get excited about working with the staff he had in place.  He had secured the services of a well-known oncologist, Dr. Rodriguez (I’m sorry to say I have forgotten his given name)   who was very supportive of the program.  He had been a doctor in Mexico City and had become very discouraged at the lack of progress in cancer research that would halt the progress of the disease.  He also saw the amazing change in people who were on the Reams program and was anxious to see the results over a longer term.  It is interesting to note that Dr. Kelly, a dentist from Oregon, also had a program on the grounds of Plaza.  He had basically appropriated some of Dr. Reams program and made changes to it.  He charged $3,000 a week for his program….and it did not work!  His clients were in another part of the Plaza and sometimes they wandered over and compared notes with our guests.  This so upset Dr. Kelly that he actually forbade them to talk to our guests!  You can imagine how well that went over.  Things like this happened to Dr. Reams over and over.  He had no patents on his minerals so that company was literally stolen from him.  Doc trusted everybody.  He thought that he should give the information to anyone who asked about it.  For instance, when he ran his schools for testers, he never stressed that they were to follow his rules and not go off on their own tangents.  We saw this happen again and again.  Remember, Dr. Reams had over 1200 people across the country doing testing in the early 80’s)  I will again state that I do the testing and eye readings exactly as Dr. Reams taught us.  My motto is: ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’

Within a few days, we were on our way to Plaza Santa Maria, traveling down the Pacific Coast Highway.   The next chapter in this saga will tell the story of the 10 months we spent in a remarkable setting while witnessing some astounding results.

© 2009 by Elinor Barnes

So what was next for the team of peripatetic grandmothers? Here we were back home in Herkimer, NY with no idea of what was in store for us. Were we supposed to continue on with the Reams program, which had been so suddenly shut down in Roanoke? What kind of trouble might we be in if we pursued it in our own area? Would we hear a knock on the door and be told by the AMA to cease and desist? Neither of us relished the idea of a jail cell for telling people how to get healthy in a natural way, not with medically prescribed drugs, but with food that was grown in good soil and contained the nutrients needed to supply the body with energy. Add to that pure water, lemons for detoxification and the proper balance of natural vitamins, minerals and herbs to keep the body in balance.

Could we in good conscience walk away from this program from which we had benefitted so greatly? We decided that we had learned so much from our experiences at Blue Ridge and Roanoke for a reason, and we should not waste what had been given to us. We started talking to a lot of people about the program and gradually a few of them showed some interest in being tested. We began a small health food store in our home; we had a large family room which had been our childrens’ playroom, stocking it with the minerals and vitamins that Dr. Reams had formulated and which worked so well….(incidentally, I still recommend these same mineral formulas to this very day, 33 years later!).

Our very first client for the program was a dog! A neighbor had a beautiful old red setter that seemed to be aging rapidly and had become very listless. Her formerly shiny red coat had become dull and lifeless and she seemed very sad; we definitely thought a change of diet and some supplementation of vitamins and minerals would be helpful. It certainly would not hurt the dog, so we laid out a program for her and amazingly, the dog’s energy returned, her eyes brightened up and she acted like a puppy instead of the old dog we had seen just a few weeks earlier. Hey, this program was first was used in animal husbandry in Germany for cattle; why not use it for a smaller animal….actually, we have used it over the years for many of our own pets.

Gradually, we spoke to various friends about the Reams concept; people would ask us questions about their health problems. When we were able to test them, we would send the test results to Dr. Reams for his analysis and recommendations. Soon our clientele began to grow and we became more and more proficient in the testing procedures. We also developed a booklet for the clients to use which told them exactly what they needed to do such as the amount of each of the recommended supplements as well as dietary suggestions. These few clients became our most enthusiastic advertisers as they saw the changes in their own bodies. This is exactly the way the Reams program always spread, by word of mouth, without advertising in health magazines, but by the experience of individuals.

One thing we learned early on was that a prophet is without honor in his/her own land.  We had very few of our close friends or family as clients – the very people we most desired to help rejected our ideas about natural healing through non- medical means. Perhaps our very enthusiasm scared them or they were not ready to leave the world of doctors (who they thought only one step down from God!) and who prescribed drugs to relieve their pain and suffering. We learned the hard way that alternative therapies were not readily accepted by those who grew up relying on family doctors and/or specialists, who had those magic letters MD after their names. It was inconceivable to them that lemon water, distilled water, properly grown and prepared foods along with the addition of appropriate vitamins, minerals and/or herbs could accomplish far more than many of the drugs they were using. A bit disappointed, we remained faithful to the dietary recommendations of Dr. Reams and we kept in touch with many of the staff from Roanoke, especially Jack Shaver and his wife, Loretta, the former administrators of the Roanoke retreat. They were back in Utah and were trying to set up a new Retreat with Dr. Reams on Dorothea Island in the Caribbean. They wanted us to go down and work with them on this project, but before it came to fruition, the backers who were going to finance the venture backed out…another stumbling block to expanding the program.

Meanwhile, Dr. Reams was in California and was seriously considering opening a retreat in Mexico, in the Baja. There was a great deal of harassment of all natural therapies in those years (the late 70’s and early 80’s). The US Food and Drug Administration were threatening to close down all health food stores and make vitamins and minerals available only by prescription. What does this tell you? Too many people were getting well by leaving their association with the medical profession’s approach and using natural therapies – coincidentally, it was taking money away from the medical profession which obviously made some of them extremely unhappy. Anyway, all of this led to another period of waiting and wondering until in Nov. ’78, we received a call from Fern Stansfield, Dr. Reams’ secretary, asking us to pack our bags and head for California. Dr. Reams was in the process of opening a new retreat in Mexico, in Tecate a small town just across the border from San Diego. I can assure you that we did not immediately jump into action on the basis of one phone call! We needed more information and some assurance about the feasibility of leaving our home again after we had just nicely gotten settled into what should be a normal routine for women our age! Going to Mexico was definitely not just a little jaunt down the block…it was well over two thousand miles from our safe haven…and what would our friends and families say about this? However, Fern persisted, calling us every day or two for a decision. She kept telling us how much Dr. Reams needed help, etc. etc. etc.

One definite obstacle to all of this was that Betty would not be able to go to Mexico until the end of the summer as she had already made a commitment to our church’s summer camp program. Fern brushed that aside and insisted that I could be of great assistance to the program and why didn’t I just fly out to San Diego and she would take me down to Tecate. Once Betty was available she could join us. This was a very persuasive person as well as a very good friend, so I finally gave in and set out for California and Mexico.

Tecate was a whole new experience; the retreat was another motel situation, but was barely functional. Dr. Reams was the only staff person at that point and he was chief cook and bottle washer, literally! He had about 15 clients in various stages of the program and he was doing the testing and counseling as well as well as preparing the lemon juice and distilled water for each person. Luckily, he had hired a couple of housekeepers to clean and do laundry. He also had a couple of maintenance men to fix whatever broke down that day….there was always either a plumbing or mechanical problem of some sort. Needless to say, things were usually in a state of confusion; it was my job to bring some type of order out of this chaos.

First, I set up a schedule for testing, meals, counseling sessions, etc. I asked Dr. Reams to hire some more help for the kitchen and housekeeping duties. Then I got busy visiting each guest, hearing their stories and finding out how far they were into the program and how they were progressing. The thing that always amazed me was the fact that no matter how disorganized the program was, the guests seemed to thrive; after the three day fast, they seemed to become more alert, there was a bounce to their steps as they looked forward to regaining the energy and hope that seemed to be lost in their illness. I thought back to the way Betty and I had felt when we first arrived at Blue Ridge and how different our outlook became after only a few days. It is amazing that when we detoxify the body, clean out the debris of many years of poor nutrition and the effects of the drugs that the medical doctors prescribed, how quickly the body responds with new energy. The emotional system also gains a new perspective that permeates the whole body. I am reminded that we are triune beings consisting of a physical body, an emotional system, as well as a spiritual component; for one system to be out of balance is for all three systems to suffer. Our program deals mainly with the physical body, but we are always aware of the other two….the mind and spirit. While we do not preach any specific doctrine, we always thank God for the knowledge He had given Dr. Reams which he passed on to so many others.

So there we were, in old Mexico, taking care of several guests and always being aware of the Federales, the Mexican police who kept a watchful eye on us ‘gringos’. Being in the center of the town was a bit daunting. The motel had regular guests as well as our group. Sometimes it got a bit rowdy in the evening when the regular motel guests were visiting the local bars, but that was not our concern. The only problem it presented was the loss of sleep for some of our folks.

[Editor's note from Wikipedia: Tecate is a small city in the Mexican state of Baja California, located at 32°34?30?N 116°37?7?W on the border with the United States and adjacent to Tecate, California. There is a border crossing which is much quieter than nearby Tijuana or Mexicali, making it a more accurate representation of small-town Mexican culture. The crossing is not open between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Although the city is only 40 miles from San Diego, the link is a winding mountain road, so Tecate is not so viable as an alternative to long lines on the Tijuana–San Ysidro border. ]

© 2009 by Elinor Barnes

We saw many other remarkable recoveries in the year and a half that we were at Tinker Mountain Retreat. For instance, we saw people with severe arthritis throw away canes and walkers. A woman with advanced diabetes (who had staunchly refused any type of treatment in her native Newfoundland) made a total recovery from this disease. And the answer was so simple; we are using the same methodology today with many people who would have become senile diabetics if we had not set them on the right path. Heart patients, cancer patients who were given up on by the medical community found a new lease on life. Yes, it was an amazing time.

However, there was a large medical community who were very annoyed at this entire group of people who were turning away from the chemical zoo that the doctors were prescribing and going back to basics…..good food, pure water, and the proper supplementation for their individual bodies. This was the time (in the late 70’s) when the medical profession was trying its best to shut down all alternative therapies. They tried to stop the sales of all vitamins and minerals, as well as herbs, saying they should only be used by prescription from an M.D. They ginned up several case studies to back up their claims for the harm done to individuals…one I especially remember was when they told us not to use Vitamin A as it had been proven to be deadly. Come to find out, they used a huge overdose on a young boy in Boston for the treatment of cancer. That overdose was so toxic to his body that he died from the effects of it. Then they came out with a huge article in the Journal of American Medicine that warned everyone not to use that horrible vitamin any more without a legitimate prescription. Other vitamins and minerals came under the same type of attack. Common sense tells you that almost anything can be toxic if given in huge doses; sadly, common sense was in very short supply at that time!

Unfortunately, a program like RBTI has always attracted a lot of charlatans who saw an opportunity to make a lot of money. Dr. Reams objective was to help people; however, he was not a saint! He also was very naïve when it came to dealing with money matters. We find that most geniuses are like that; they work on a different plane of consciousness than we do. That makes for some interesting problems when it came to running a retreat program, such as paying the rent, buying supplies, etc. Luckily, Dr. Reams had a good business manager in Jack Shaver and he kept him from a lot of disasters.

One day, the attorney general for the state of Virginia, who had been getting a lot of complaints from the medical community about this “crackpot group” at Tinker Mountain, decided to investigate the whole situation. Sadly, we did have a few people there that overstepped the boundaries of nutritional consultants and started playing doctor….even going so far as to put a stethoscope around their necks and wearing a white coat when seeing clients. I can assure you that Betty and I never played that game.  Our job was to analyze the results of the testing (urine and saliva) and recommend the amount of water (distilled, of course), lemon water, dietary needs, etc. When the clients went home we had equipped them with as much information as they needed to stay on the program and continue on the path to better health.

In late summer, we came back to the retreat from a shopping trip and found armed guards at the entrance. The retreat was being closed down and no one was to go in or out. Imagine our consternation at that! We had many guests there, some fasting, some coming off fast and needing direction for the balance of their stay. The authorities had also sealed off the lab so that we could not test.

The guests were in a panic, and so were we. However, we got all the staff together and began making arrangements for some guests to go home. Then we started arrangements for others to be taken care of at home by testers in their area. We had to consult with each individual and set up a program for each one. We had 48 hours of very little sleep and a lot of tension trying to keep everyone calm and sending them on their way with proper instructions.

The whole situation was actually a set-up designed to catch Dr. Reams “practicing medicine”….which he never did. Also, he was not even at the retreat when this took place; he had been out on the west coast doing seminars and came back within a few days. Although he got the sheriff’s department to remove the guards from the gates, the damage had been done. Tinker Mountain never re-opened.

Dr. Reams had to eventually appear in court to contest the charges against him. Amazingly, when he got on the stand and started explaining what we did at the retreat, the judge became really interested in the entire process. I think he would have liked to have been tested by Dr. Reams, but that probably didn’t happen. Best of all, the judge threw the case out of court for lack of any evidence to support the charge of practicing medicine without a license.

Looking back on the high anxiety of that particular time, some may wonder why we stayed in the RBTI program. It was because we believed in it. We had seen what this program could do for literally hundreds of people, including ourselves. We saw people who came to us fairly sure that they were facing years of pain and suffering, surgeries and hopelessness. When they left the retreat, we saw people with a whole new outlook on life. They had been given a reprieve. Many of the ones that we followed up on went home to live productive lives, free from the pain and the fears that had trapped them for so long in a downward spiral of doctors, medications and expensive treatments that were not necessarily helping them. Why? Because most of the medical “solutions” were not addressing the causes of their discomfort. And what was causing the pain, the illnesses, the distress…metabolic imbalances in the body. I know that sounds simplistic, but it is amazing that once that balance is corrected, most of the problems disappear.

Lest you think that all of our experiences were anxiety producing and frightening, let me reassure you that the days spent in the retreats over a period of years were some of the happiest time of our lives. We were doing work that we believed in and we saw the results. Although the hours were long, the sense of accomplishment made up for that. We had fun times, too. Evenings were often spent in prayer and praise sessions. We performed skits portraying some of the guests (which they really appreciated). There was a wonderful interaction between all of the staff and the guests.  We became a little community even though the guests changed every week or two.

Leaving Roanoke was difficult, but we came back home with a lot of knowledge and the confidence that God had more for us to do. Where? When?  We just kept ourselves available for the next chapter to begin!
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