as well as causing a more negative reaction from the local community. Metelica's demand for complete power caused a cult-like mentality to permeate the group which was divided into a distinct hierarchy with him as the unquestioned and undisputed leader. The nadir of this period was the murder of a commune member while hitch-hiking from work, a crime which was never solved and the subsequent “Metelica Marches” whereby members vigiled on the streets of Turners Falls and Greenfield with signs proclaiming Metelica as a new religion. The Shea Theater complex in Turners Falls became the nerve center of the group while the Warwick property slowly fell into decline. It was during this time that Metelica's drug and alcohol addictions began which would have dire consequences for the group in the near future. In 1974, the commune became the legally recognized and tax-exempt Renaissance Church and Renaissance Community; Metelica changed his name to Rapunzel (although few of his former adherents currently refer to him as such.) All community properties (which now included several residences in Turners Falls) were lavishly renovated while members worked a variety of jobs in the outside world. One of these work experiences occurred at the Belchertown State School which housed close to a thousand developmentally disabled people of various ages and infirmities. Conditions at the school were described by one observer as "barbaric" and "medieval." Due to a lawsuit in 1973, the school was mandated to hire one hundred additional employees. Commune member Larry Raffel arranged for fifty of his communal peers to be hired and to work in each building on the grounds. Their care and consideration helped transform Belchertown State School into a more humane institution. During the three years of their tenure at the school, commune members helped release over a hundred residents from locked wards and into the mainstream community. The first of many business and creative ventures were launched during this time while Metelica worked full-time in the Shea Theater's recording studio with various bands. Meetings in which Rapunzel discussed his philosophy and worldview at length were held in the theater complex. The Renaissance Church, meanwhile, opened its Sunday services to the general public featuring music and meditations with an accommodating spiritual philosophy. It also sponsored a free Christmas dinner in the Shea Theater for the next few years, which was fully attended and reportedly popular with the outside population. By 1975,