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Back to Squeaky Fromme...

The article below, resonates some of the abuse Lynn endured, and other historical facts (Phil Hartman, Bill Siddons, Gene Kelly, Walt Disney, etc) which Beauders and others offered, in an earlier thread. 
I enjoyed this piece. I'm not familiar with the author, so I can't confirm authenticity on all the facts... but I believe most of the information is excerpted/paraphrased from Jess Bravin's book. 

Works Cited by the Author:  
Bravin, Jess. "Squeaky". New York: Buzz Books, 1997

Harper, Roy. The Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme Interview.  Outer Shell Magazine.

"Success or contentment . . . in any of your pursuits from the most inane, wild dream to down, ground, around-the-corner realities."

-- Inscription from Lynn Fromme in a High School Yearbook.

Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme was born Oct. 22, 1948 to Gertrude Helen and William Millar Fromme in Santa Monica Hospital. They moved a few years later, to where Lyn spent more than a decade of her childhood, a suburb of L.A. named Westchester. Like a lot of people in the area, Lyn's father, William, worked in the aerospace industry, helping to build planes. 
He was described as extraordinarily strict, even during the 50's.  And Lynette's childhood was filled with memories of her father, if not physically, then mentally, abusing Lyn, her mother, and her two siblings, one brother and sister, both younger than Lyn.

Lyn loved to dance, and until she turned 13, she would go on road trips with her dance trio; their group was known as The Lariats. She was the star of the group; her freckled face and red hair and giant smile could be found on all their promotional posters. The older kids even called her "red."  But, while her mother occasionally sewed dresses for shows, her parents were not very encouraging of Lyn.
J. Tillman Hall, Lyn's dance instructor, had many contacts. Gene Kelly would come to watch the Lariats and come backstage to say "Hi," to the dancers.  Meredith Wilson, author of The Music Man, staged one of their performances. Walt Disney presented them with a trophy. They would take six week long bus trips where the Lariats would visit Universities, Fairs, Military bases, working only for room and board. They preformed at Fort Richardson, in Alaska. Out of gratitude, the soldiers gave the dancers some antlers for a freshly killed moose. She went to the White House, and was supposed to meet then Vice-President Richard Nixon. He never showed up. (Nixon Sucks).  She did these bus trips until she was thirteen years old.

She went to Orville Wright Jr. High School. The comedian Phil Hartman attended with her. He said she was, "Very sweet—and very shy." 

As Lynette grew up, her father became more abusive. Just how abusive remains unknown, but she once told a friend that, "Everything I know about sex I learned from my father."

Then she went to Westchester High in 1963 with about three thousand other kids, where she got grades in the A- to B+ range. Then her family moved to Redondo Beach Eventually, she gave up on the Lariats, because her father wouldn't drive her the six miles back to Westchester, nor let his wife drive at all (even though they had two cars). 
At Redondo, she started to date someone named Bill Siddons, who later managed The Doors. They broke it off after his mother called her "disturbed." She had always been more "spiritual" minded.

She eventually got into poetry. Dylan Thomas was her favorite poet. They put her poem at the beginning of the High School's Annual Poetry Journal. She became a beacon of "sophistication."  Some days she would miss school. She had become adept at hiding the bruises her father gave her. After these fights, Lynne would once overdose on barbiturates, and at another time slit her wrists.
At the time, Lyn worked at a canvas factory up to twenty hours a week, stretching the canvas and stapling it to the frames. She would get more depressed throughout her senior year, occasionally burning herself with lit cigarettes, not flinching. Another time, she shot staples into her left forearm at precise three-inch intervals.

Jumping from house to house, gathering respect and getting depressed, until she eventually landed at Venice Beach, where she met "The Gardener." He had known that her father had kicked her out of the house. They talked about the things she hated.
He said, "The way out of a room is not through the door. Just don't want out, and you're free." He was heading up North, and invited her with. She went, and never left him after that.

The Gardner's real name was Charles Manson.

Main Article: http://everything2.com/title/Lynette+%2522Squeaky%2522+Fromme