Woodstock

[D Whetstone]

Its the 40th anniversary of Woodstock. 

Tim (my 9 yr old son) and I were listening to the radio (classic rock) on Saturday.  They were talking about the artists of Woodstock.  He asked me about Woodstock.  Later in the day he asked me, "Dad, did anyone in our family go to Woodstock?"  I replied with, "No. Not that I know of."  His response was, "Too bad. I would really like to hear their stories about it."

So, I thought, why don't I ask the Forum friend. Do any of you have personal stories, stories of family members, or other recollections of Woodstock or the time surrounding it. I thought it would be fun and education for him.  Remember, his 9.  Don't leave out all that happened but don't be too graphic. 

Thanks,

David

[Rudy Taylor]

I wish I had the personal experiences that your son would like to hear.  In 1969 I worked as a newsman/announcer for a CBS affiliate in Oklahoma City. Even though Woodstock was a long ways from our station, our viewers seemed to hold high interest in the event.

Woodstock emanated two huge stories. One was the mud-mired, drug-smoking, free-sex scene in that pasture located near Bethel, N.Y. That's interesting in itself --- Bethel is located about 45 miles from the town of Woodstock, N.Y.

Older folks around the country were outraged at what they considered to be blatant immorality at Woodstock. However, most of those attending the festival came home with different stories --- relating the cultural,musical and protest music they enjoyed. That, after all, is the hallmark of living in this great country --- being able to express ourselves in whatever format we choose.

As a midwesterner, of course, I wasn't too involved in the Woodstock culture, but over the years I have learned to appreciate its place in American history. Political, cultural, social and religious discourse can be ugly. And it can be beautiful. Sometimes the same point in history can be viewed as either/or.  Woodstock definitely was one of those places and one of those times.

[D Whetstone]

Great!  Keep it coming! Rudy, although you were not present, I think that personal insight and recollection is exactly what Tim wants to hear. If anyone has personal mud slinging stories, that is good too.

Thanks,

David

[jarhead]

David,
I have "recollections of Woodstock or the time surrounding it". No I wasn't at Bethel NY but was 8,429 miles away on the other side of the world. Maybe when you tell your young grandson about the "free love and LSD trips" you could please tell him that from August 15-18, while Woodstock rocked, that 109 brave American soldiers gave their life in Vietnam.
Thanks
Jarhead

[pamsback]

  I was only 9 but think it would've been one of those things that was worth the trouble I'd have been in for goin!

[D Whetstone]

Diane - absolutely want to hear from anyone.  All Forum friends.

Jarhead - I want him to understand the "whole" story. Thank you for sharing.

David

[greatguns]

Come on Diane, share your wealth with us.  I have a feeling you can be a welth of information on this one.

[Diane Amberg]

Thanks Dr. Dave.  (Look out Great, here I come!)        I was 24 the summer of Woodstock. In some ways things were a bit like now. An unpopular war was happening in a far away country that most of us didn't know much about. Every evening on the news we heard about " body counts," American and Viet Cong soldiers' deaths. We still had the draft then and all males had to register at age 18. Most knew if their number came up they would be headed to Viet Nam. Some didn't understand what we were fighting for and if their draft number was called they ran to Canada to hide. Our economy wasn't in very good shape then either.
Long hair for boys was pretty new and the hippie boys grew it very long. They wanted to be different from their parents. They wanted peace not war and wanted to make this country a better place.They talked about it a lot and wrote songs about it too. The hippie girls had very long hair also and wore peace rings and lots of beads and flowers. Rock music was very popular and some of the bands of today were just getting their start then. People really liked to have parties, the bigger the better, with lots music and food and laughing and unfortunately, drugs and alcohol. Anybody could come and everybody had a good time. It was often called ''A Be In." You could just come and be yourself. That summer people were very gloomy, even though we had just gone to the moon. A lot of our soldiers had given their lives in Viet Nam  and many young people couldn't understand why. A group decided they could make some money and help people feel better at the same time. They got permission to use a man's 600 acre farm in New York state for a huge party. Boy, did it turn out even bigger than they planned! Some 500,000 young people showed up for 3 days of rock music and fun. Everyone sat on the farm's hill sides and watched the big stage that looked much like the big rock band stages of today.
I almost went myself, but I had a classroom to open up and teachers meetings to go to and I was afraid I might not make it back in time. I had a lot of friends that went and of course they told me all about it.
They had a fence around the area and a gate that people went through after they got their ticket if they didn't already have one. But there were so many people there, they finally pushed down the fence and everyone else went in for free.  Unfortunately, it rained quite a bit and made a lot of mud. People just slept on the ground or where ever they could and didn't care if they got dirty. The music just played and played and played.  Many people danced and sang and held hands and ran around together. The stage got very wet and the wiring got soaked and some of the guitar players got shocks as they tried to play. Some people ran out of food and water, but others shared and some got very sick from taking too many drugs. One girl even had a baby while she was there!  Some of the time it got rather hot and some of them tried to cool off by taking part of their clothes off, even the girls! There were some porta potties there but not nearly enough for that many people and things got pretty stinky. They had a lot of ambulances that stayed to take care of bug bites and sick people but everybody had a good time anyway. I know I won't remember every singer and band that was there, but some were: The Greatful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Sly and the Family Stone, Jefferson Airplane, The Who,  Blood, Sweat and Tears, Santana, Sha- na- na, Arlo Guthrie, Jimmy Henrix, Janis Joplin, Joan Baez and Joe Cocker.


The people who went just wanted some time to be happy and make new friends, share common thoughts and feelings and enjoy good music, have peace and love and forget the world for awhile.  Some couples met there for the very first time and got married later. Of course all of us are much older now and got married and had families, but for the ones that went it was something they'll never forget. Any questions?

[greatguns]

No questions from me.  You will be getting an a on your report though.  Thank you from this Kansas kid.

[sixdogsmom]

I am a bit older than Diane, but I must tell you that you can get a sense of the times by visiting the wall memorial in Winfield, Kansas with all the boys' from Kansas names that did not come home from that war. It is especially stirring to visit on Veterans Day and to realise that at least two of those boys were your younger brothers' friends growing up. That one at least spent his summers along with my younger brother making life miserable for a budding teenage girl. That one at least helped dig the numerous foxholes in our yard until my dad fell into one. That was the end of those war games for Tommy and my brother. Those two boys were both born in the house I grew up in, one was wasted in a needless war. It was many years before I became a true peacenik, it was many years before the man I married talked about Viet Nam and the waste of our young men. He spent two tours there and worked as a load master on KC135s. Often they brought body bags out of Viet Nam, and that bothered him very much. He was there during the Tet Offensive, and spoke of the stark terror of those firefights. Don't Wanna Make War No More!