Year 2000

Apocalypse Now. No, Really. Now!
New York Times Magazine, December 27, 1998

High 54 is an in-the-works survivalism community. The rural retreat is still under construction, but soon hopes to offer amenities like underground living quarters, 24-hour armed security, perimeter guards, wind-and-solar power sources and a barter economy. Potential members are required to arrive with at least a one-year supply of food and at least one rifle and one handgun per family, preferably with 1,000 rounds of ammo per weapon. Gas masks, though not required, are highly recommended.

Another one is Prayer Lake, located near Kingston, Arkansas (population 130), a town about 165 miles (264 kilometers) north of Little Rock, the state capital. Bob Rutz, 67, an engineer and entrepreneur, is another 'builder' on the Y2K survivalism scene. Rutz and his wife, Joan, are constructing Prayer Lake, a 700-acre Christian community in the hills of northwest Arkansas. Rutz hopes 100 families buy three-acre plots and get back to simple ways of living; plowing with mules, reading by kerosene lamps, drinking from springs and wells. 'I look at this as Judgement Day,' he says.

Finally, there is God's Wilderness in Finland, Minnesota (population 80), on Highway 1 and County Road 7, located 65 miles (104 kilometers) northeast of Duluth. This enclave "bills itself as a relocation site for Christians, offering land complete with cabin, well pump, stove, greenhouse, shed and outhouse." David and Johanna Hecker, who own the site say on their Web page that they knew nothing about Y2K worries until they tried to sell some land and got inquiries from people looking for a place to escape.