Almost Heaven Has No Place For Militia Types, Founder Says Gritz Says His Promised Land A Safe, Spiritual Subdivision
Three years after announcing plans for a constitutional covenant community near Kamiah, James G. (Bo) Gritz describes his new home first by saying what it is not.
“It’s not an armed compound,” growls Gritz, a blustery, no-nonsense military man never known to mince words.
Nor is his complex of subdivisions atop the sparsely wooded plateau country overlooking Kamiah a haven for militia types, neo-Nazis, bigots or people on the run from the law, he said. There are no paramilitary exercises, perimeter fences or guard towers.
“And no bunkers. None of the crap” predicted by his critics, he said, when word of his move from Nevada to Idaho first made national news.
“Instead, we have done what other people feared to do,” said Gritz, a retired Green Beret colonel and leader in the Patriot Movement, which swears allegiance to the U.S. Constitution and challenges government that imposes too many restrictions on individual rights.
“All the critics that lined up and said we’d have jack-booted thugs, iron crosses and swastikas … they’ll have to eat their hats.”
Gritz said he and others who live in his subdivisions north of Kamiah have found the “safest place in America.” Those purchasing property sign a covenant that says they “are willing to stand within our ability to defend the rights of every other inhabitant of this community as guaranteed by the Constitution and its amendments.”
Gritz said he led no one to this promised land. He simply had the vision, put out the word and is now immersed in the final stages of a real estate transaction he likens to a giant board game.
“I mean, I didn’t ever know how to play Monopoly,” says Gritz, 58. “But I’m playing it now.”
Perhaps the biggest news from Almost Heaven these days is that Jerry Gillespie, longtime Gritz sidekick, political confidant and ramrod of the covenant community sales transactions, is out of the picture. He has packed up his family and moved back to Arizona, leaving his $250,000 home sitting empty.
“Jerry is gone,” said Gritz, confirming a rift between the two. Gritz also acknowledges there still are dissidents among his ranks and blames Gillespie for some of the squabbling between people.
He labels the dissidents “knots,” explaining that along every smooth board there are a few rough spots. The knots, in turn, suggest their move to Almost Heaven has been more akin to entering “purgatory” and that Gritz himself turned out to be something less than expected.
“The covenant community is a decent idea, but it doesn’t work,” said Ross Stirling, one of several residents who have questioned the direction the community appears to be headed.
Sam and Esther Arcidiacono, who paid cash for a 2-acre lot and built a stunning rammed earth home, claim they “went through hell” trying to get clear title to their property and in the process lost all respect for Gritz. “I will say that Bo Gritz does not stand up to what he promises,” Sam Arcidiacono said.
But for every knot, asserts Gritz, there are many more trumpeting the virtues of Almost Heaven and working with him. “We came up here after Bo had talked about the Kamiah area and we fell in love with the country,” said Leland Bowen, 56, who lives with his wife Pat in a contemporary straw-bale house they built in the Shenandoah subdivision.
Almost Heaven is but one of seven subdivisions that make up the constitutional covenant community. So far, there are about 100 people living in the various tracts, which are not all adjoining. Shenandoah is 10 miles east of Almost Heaven. The subdivisions total about 1,500 acres and include some 180 lots of various sizes and prices.
The homes being built range from modest mobile homes to upscale houses of various styles and building materials. Gritz said residents are building a place, as advertised, away from “the hustle and bustle, murder, rape and pillage of the cities” where people can “join the quiet communities of ranchers, farmers and lumbermen in Idaho County, Idaho.”
Down in Kamiah, meanwhile, Mayor Howard Daugherty does not hesitate to endorse Gritz and the others as good neighbors.
“I think they fit in good. I don’t see any problem from here. It’s like everything else, we just live and let live.”
Idaho County Undersheriff Jon Stroop said there have been no law enforcement problems associated with Almost Heaven and his office has a working relationship with Gritz. “We’re not best buddies, but as far as a dialogue, we have no problem contacting him and he seems willing to contact us.”
Other state and county officials also report nothing but cooperation and compliance from people living in the covenant community. Taxes on all properties in the various subdivisions are paid, Idaho County Treasurer Sharon Cox said.