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W. A. Carrithers at a young age

Walter Adley Carrithers (August 14, 1924 - ca. August 21, 1994) was a Theosophical historian in Fresno, California. Using the pen name of Adlai E. Waterman, he wrote the book, Obituary: the “Hodgson Report” on Madame Blavatsky 1885-1960, in which he reveals that the research of Richard Hodgson into the activities of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky was biased and defective.

He formed The Blavatsky Foundation to perpetuate public knowledge of the life and works of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky.

Personal life

Walter Adley Carrithers, Jr., was born on August 14, 1924 in Fresno, California, to Walter Carrithers and Mabel E. Fletcher. His close family relationships were important in his life.

The Carrithers family

Walter Adley Carrithers, Sr. (b. May 9, 1887) was ordained as a minister in the evangelical Pilgrim Holiness denomination in 1922. Carrithers met Mabel Elizabeth Fletcher (b. June 30, 1886), and they married on September 1, 1923 in Fresno. He became pastor of the Pilgrim Holiness Church in Fresno and maintained a ministry to prisoners until his death on March 17, 1964. For twenty-three years, he was also chief mechanic at the Fresno Playground Department, until he retired in 1951. The couple had two sons: Walter born in 1924, and his brother Nathan, born on October 1, 1927.

Nathan was drafted into the Army in 1950, but was released from service in 1953 after suffering a brain injury and a damaging course of insulin shock treatments. He gradually recovered and was able to operate an auto repair shop and to share an interest in photography with his brother. After their mother Mabel died in September, 1973, the two brothers inherited the family home.

Education and employment

Walter enjoyed English and art classes in High School, and was art director for the school yearbook for three years. He won awards in art and essay contests, and wrote letters to local newspapers about subjects like communism and dirigibles.< Fresno_Bee_1938-05-17_16 and Sacramento_Bee_1938-09-12_20 and Sacramento_Bee_1938-09-12_20.> However, he could not maintain interest in other courses like geometry and Spanish that were required for college entrance. Testing showed his IQ to be 138, but lack of discipline and motivation deterred his academic progress. He enrolled in correspondence schools to become a commercial artist, but did not turn in many of the lessons. He also considered librarianship and law school, but could not manage the academic and financial requirements.

In 1944 Walter Jr. took a job as mayonnaise cook at Coleman Products, and stayed there until 1951. After that point, the family struggled financially, since the father had retired from his government job, and Nathan was in the Army. In 1957 Walter Jr. offered astrological readings, advertising in Astrology Guide, but that never generated much income, if any. From 1964-1980 Walter had a typesetting business called Manuscript Typing Service, later known as Textset Col-Type Service.

Work in defending H. P. Blavatsky

Obituary

Dr. John Cooper, Theosophical history expert who worked extensively on the Blavatsky correspondence, wrote of this work:

Walter Carrithers will be best remembered under the pen name of Adlai E. Waterman as the author of the book, Obituary: the “Hodgson Report” on Madame Blavatsky 1885-1960, which was published by the Theosophical Publishing House in 1963 with a preface by N. Sri Ram.

The then President of the Theosophical Society called the book а “remarkable piece of work ... undertaken ... with extreme thoroughness and care.” His first publication was The Truth about Madame Blavatsky published both as a pamphlet and as a Supplement to The Theosophical Forum, April 1947, by the Theosophical Society then at Covina and now at Pasadena, California.

This pamphlet was a rebuttal to the Blavatsky biography Priestess of the Occult (1946) by Gertrude Marvin Williams. His book Obituary led to intensive debate with Victor Endersby the editor of Theosophical Notes and, later, Walter Carrithers published several long articles on Tantra and Tibet in that journal.

He became obsessed with this defence and neglected his health by working night after night as one of the Defenders. In some ways he carried this to such an extreme that his friend Boris de Zirkoff wrote to advise that he should “take some rest, some sleep ... and place your mind somewhere else than on those schemers and slanderers.” On Tuesday 14th, November, 1989 Dara Eklund, her husband Nicholas Weeks and I drove to Fresno to meet with Walter. It was a sad visit as he was quite ill.

Walter Carrither’s work continues and his writings deserve close study. His colleagues wish him well in his journey into the unknown.

Formation and activities of The Blavatsky Foundation

He issued regular Newsletters mainly dealing with attacks on Madame Blavatsky for the Foundation.

Other interests

science fiction, UFOs, assassination of JFK, RFK.....

Death

Carrithers died of heart failure in Fresno on or about August 21, 1994. He was found by the police about three days after his death. Tributes were written in The High Country Theosophist by John Cooper and in the Preface to the online edition of Obituary: "The Hodgson Report, published by The Blavatsky Foundation.

Additional resources

Websites

• The Writings of Walter A. Carrithers, Jr. at the Blavatsky Foundation website.

Articles and pamphlets

• Cooper, John. "Death of an American Theosophist Historian," The High Country Theosophist 10 no.1 (January 1995), 16.
• Price, Leslie. Preface to the online edition of Obituary: "The Hodgson Report".

Books

• Obituary: The "Hodgson Report" on Madame Blavatsky by Walter A. Carrithers, Jr.

Archival collections

• Walter A. Carrithers, Jr. Papers, Records Series 25.26, Theosophical Society in America Archives. This archival collection includes some Blavatsky Foundation records, the extensive correspondence of Walter A. Carrithers, Jr., and notes related to his writings.
• Boris de Zirkoff Papers, Records Series 22, Theosophical Society in America Archives. Walter A. Carrithers, Jr. conducted an extensive correspondence with Boris de Zirkoff.
• Sidney A. Cook Papers, Records Series 08.05, Theosophical Society in America Archives. The presidential papers of Sidney A Cook include some correspondence with or about Carrithers.