requirements. During those first ten years, Stelle residents discovered that it is easier to agree on a positive vision for the future than to agree on the steps necessary to manifest that future. Stelle was one of thousands of intentional communities that sprang up during the 1960s and 1970s whose highly idealistic visions for the future have not yet been achieved. However, building these communities did provide valuable learning experiences for many. After Stelle transitioned to a "normal" village in 1982, it became notable for its suburban design, the solar panels on many homes, and the residents' enthusiasm for lifelong education and co-operative enterprises. The village has its own telephone company, which provides telephone, television, and internet access. Stelle also boasts a community garden co-op, a tool co-op, a Monday night dinner co-op, and hosts a variety of educational events that are open to the public. Early history Although the early history of Stelle (1970–1982) is mostly irrelevant to what is happening in the community today, those who study intentional community, or who wish to participate in community living, often find Stelle's early history of interest. Stelle was founded in 1973 by the Stelle Group, a Chicago organization created by Richard Kieninger, a writer and teacher who was also instrumental in founding Adelphi, Texas. During the 1950s, Kieninger had been a student of the Lemurian Fellowship in Ramona, California, where he was instructed in a set of beliefs called “Lemurian Philosophy.” In his book The Ultimate Frontier (written in 1963 under the pen name “Eklal Kueshana”), Kieninger outlined the tenets of Lemurian philosophy, as well as further teachings he claimed were given to him by ancient, secretive organizations called the “Brotherhoods.” The Ultimate Frontier sold over a quarter of a million copies and attracted worldwide interest in the new community. The teachings Kieninger attributed to the Brotherhoods included a prediction that cataclysmic earth changes were to occur on May 5, 2000, as well as recommendations for individual advancement through education, practice of Twelve Great Virtues and an emphasis on right action to improve one's karma. In order to provide a physical setting where individuals could more easily practice the Brotherhoods’ teachings, the Stelle Group bought land in northern Ford County, Illinois, where members built a sewage treatment plant, a water treatment plant, roads, streets, underground utilities, a factory, a school and the first twenty-five homes. Mr. Kieninger predicted that this