(Photos shown are of Kathie Adler with her clowns at her factory sewing machine in 2010 and Kathie with Madeline Balletta, founder of Bee Alive Royal Jelly health products. Kathie interviewed Madeline on her radio show in 1987 when Kathie was facing a situation with Epstein Barr Virus in her family, and Madeline had also suffered from the same illness. Madeline believed royal jelly from the bee hive helped her).
As a young girl, Kathie was always talking. But being loquacious would pay off years later when Kathie began her radio show. Kathie's English teacher wrote in Kathie's 1964 high school yearbook, "To Kathie, who talks incessantly but has more than enough charm to be excused." So, from having a father who did not have the utmost patience with her, this compliment was a breath of fresh air and gave Kathie a confident feeling about herself that she couldn't get from anywhere else. Kathie had one sister, Patricia, (3 years older) and one brother, Anthony (10 years younger) who have both passed away. Kathie's brother was born with cerebral palsy from loss of oxygen due to a doctor's mistake. Her brother was never able to walk or talk or feed himself, but having a disabled brother created compassion in Kathie and her sister, and her brother was a blessing to everyone who cared for him.
During the 1960's, Kathie and her sister, Pat, would drive to Jones Beach, often riding in her father's 1950 Chrysler Town and Country car with white wall tires. It was a woody her father was proud of. (Photo example, not actual car).
Growing up, Kathie's father was an alcoholic who drowned out his severe back pain from an injury during World War II, having had six spinal surgeries, until he found Jesus in the 1960's. He never touched a drop of alcohol after that. Because of his wife, Mary's, modeling of Christian character, he found Christ. Kathie's grandmother greatly influenced the family with her love and godly example, and Mary came to Christ first, then Kathie, then her father, and finally her sister, Pat.
PIANO: Kathie began taking piano lessons when she was about twelve years old. In high school, she took lessons from her Uniondale High music teacher, Mr. Mendelsohn, and after getting married in 1972, Kathie took lessons from a concert pianist in Stony Brook who played Avery Fisher Hall in New York City. From there, Kathie took lessons from Larry Pearlstein, a band leader and innovative music teacher. He taught Kathie a bit of jazz and how to play by ear since Kathie only played classical pieces and only with sheet music.
MODELING: Kathie attended modeling school during her twenties and modeled for a brief time and enjoyed wearing classy outfits from various clothing designers.
PHOTOGRAPHY: After high school, Kathie began dabbling in photography and owned a small Instamatic camera. She later started her own photography business after seeing what her husband's 35 mm camera could do! Her photography business was called Dimension Photos. Kathie went on to do portraits, weddings, and still loves photography.
CULT MINISTRY: Around 1978, Kathie Adler had a Bible study in her home, and thereafter, due to the death of a friend of hers, she joined the Help Jesus Ministry from California which ministered to those in the cults. She then purchased a spot on Saturday mornings over WLIX Radio which aired for two years from 1979 through1980. Kathie incorporated a Christian ministry in 1979 called Narrow Way Ministries. Founding members were her Christian grandmother, Kathie's mother, and a Christian friend who live on her block. In 1984, Kathie's mother, Mary, passed away at a hospital after three major surgeries. This was a terrible tragedy in Kathie's life. But after two years, Kathie went back on the radio, this time paying for thirty minutes per night, five nights a weeks, and that show lasted for four years until October,1988. The radio show was called STRAIGHT TALK WITH KATHIE ADLER.
JONESTOWN MASSACRE: Kathie did radio shows on the tragic Jonestown Massacre (Nov. 18, 1978). Many people today do not know about Jonestown or Jim Jones, the founder. On that fateful day in 1978, 909 followers of the Rev. Jim Jones, leader of the People's Temple which was formerly located in Ukiah, California, committed revolutionary suicide in the hot jungles of Guyana, South America. They drank a mixture of Flavor Aid laced with cyanide. Many of Jones' followers who refused the drink were murdered by Jones' henchmen either by gunshot or forced injections of the poison. Congressman Leo J. Ryan from California visited Jonestown days before the massacre along with 17 others to see if the paranoid cult leader was keeping members in Jonestown against their will. Ryan had received complaint letters from concerned family members, and he wanted to determine if what he was told about Jim Jones and Jonestown was legitimate. Jim Jones was upset that followers were disowning him and wanted to leave. As Leo J. Ryan and 25 defectors who wanted to escape were about to board a small plane for home, a truck pulled up and began shooting; Ryan was shot and killed along with five others as they tried to board the plane. "The dead at the Port Kaituma airstrip were Congressman Leo Ryan, photographer Greg Robinson of The San Francisco Examiner; cameraman Bob Brown, and reporter Don Harris from NBC; and Temple defector Patricia Parks."
https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=35346
Kathie used the National Public Radio's cassette tapes for her shows, but she was only permitted to use ninety seconds of the tapes. "Father Cares, the Last of Jonestown" showcased the evil that had embodied Jim Jones. Sadly, the Jonestown Massacre broadcasts were Kathie's most popular radio broadcasts. This terrible tragedy affected Kathie Adler and encouraged her to continue helping cult members find God and escape the control of a cult leader.
https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/jonestown
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Ryan
Kathie also taught on radio about other cult groups such as the Moonies, the Way International, and Satanism. She taught about basic Christian beliefs and how to recognize the common traits of a cult. From a listener's survey, Kathie Adler's radio show ranked number 5 in popularity out of the more than 30 shows on the station. Many of the other program were nationally known and syndicated. Kathie went off WLIX Radio in the fall of 1988 after 4 successful years on radio.
Kathie was invited to speak in many churches on Long Island (she also sang at her seminars) and was invited to speak at the Blue Mountain Christian Retreat Center in New Ringgold, Pennsylvania, sharing her expertise on cults at the annual convention on cults. Kathie was well-respected by her peers, by cult research apologists, and authors such as Dr. Robert Morey, Professor James Bjornstad, and Bill and Joan Cetnar, former Jehovah's Witnesses, all of whom are now with the Lord. Kathie Adler has written literature and fliers on many cults and has three short books for children on the cults which were created as allegories. Kathie also a one-hundred-twenty page book on the New Age Movement.
Saying that Kathie Adler was always talking as a kid is not an understatement. But it means her ability to speak has been used by God in her ministry to the cults and the fifteen souls (and others she doesn't known about) who found God as a result of her efforts. And that is all God's doing. Kathie Adler and her husband have two children and one grandchild, and of course, her two cats are their other kids!
Kathie Adler and her husband were doll manufacturers in the late 1970's to the late 1980's, manufacturing all types of hand-made cloth dolls and bears and had ten people working from their homes. Doll shops across Long Island purchased Kathie's line of dolls from Huntington to Port Jefferson to Glen Cove. Kay Adler Dolls were sold and shipped across the country to gift shops and also to gift shops on Rodeo Drive in California.
Kay Adler Dolls were made from the best fabrics. Although Kathie no longer manufactures or sells dolls and bears, you can view her creations online at the website Kathie created. www.KayAdlerDolls.com
