Tag: woodstock

Woodstock Memories

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It has been a delightful labor of love getting to this point, and I am pleased to announce that our latest book Dear Hippie … We Met at Woodstock has been published and is now available in paperback through Amazon.  Subtitled One Cop’s Memories of the 1969 Woodstock Festival, the digital/Kindle version will also be on Amazon within the next two weeks.

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Though the event took place almost fifty years ago (August 15-17, 1969), writing about my time there as a police officer brought back a number of fond memories, many of which I included in the book.  For example, while the organizers of Woodstock only planned for a crowd of about 50,000 people, an estimated half million actually found their way to Max Yasgur’s 600 acre dairy farm in bucolic Bethel, New York.  Fun fact: when the “official” tally of attendees was noted, that colossal number  made the little town of Bethel – at that moment in time – the second largest community in New York State!

Needless to say, concert organizers and government entities quickly were  overwhelmed.  With chaos seeming inevitable, catastrophe was averted through a grassroots spirit of cooperation and collaboration between Hippies and cops.  Though the few police officers assigned to work at Woodstock did a commendable job of providing essential services under very difficult circumstances, the young concert-goers, themselves, were remarkably cooperative, kind and generous.

The iconic images of Woodstock are ordinarily those of crowds, traffic jams, rain, mud … and did I mention traffic jams?  When all was said and done, though, thousands of Hippies and a handful of cops had worked together – and succeeded – in keeping things relatively calm … and peace, love and music prevailed.

 

 

 

What Would Wavy Do?

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The manuscript is now in the hands of the publisher, and it is anticipated that Dear Hippie … We Met At Woodstock will be launched in both print and digital formats later this year.  Putting this book together has really been a labor of love, for writing about some of the things that happened at Woodstock, 1969, has brought back a number of warm memories.  Though it took place almost fifty years ago, the mere mention of this iconic event often stirs up images of crowds, traffic jams, mud and assorted anti-social behaviors.  True enough, but there were also many remarkable displays of kindness, generosity and cooperation over those three days, and I was able to capture a number of them in the book.

One person who stood out from the diverse cast of characters at Woodstock was Wavy Gravy (Hugh Romney).  His personality, style and good humor were, I believe, among the key elements that helped keep things relatively calm in the midst of all that went on during the festival.  For example, organizers had arranged for several hundred off-duty New York City Police officers to provide security, but the police commissioner – at the last minute – withdrew his authorization for them to do so.  Into the breach stepped Wavy Gravy who announced that he would handle things with a “Please Force” rather than a police force.  He said festival attendees would be asked to “please behave” and, if they did not, he and his associates would be armed with “cream pies and seltzer bottles!”

Wavy Gravy has been a fixture on the “Hippie” scene ever since Woodstock, and is still active in a number of programs he founded over the years.  He also uses his unique and humorous style to talk about a range of issues including politics.  At the Yippie convention in 1976, for example, he nominated “Nobody For President,” and crafted the campaign slogans “Nobody is Perfect” and “Nobody Should Have Too Much Power.”  He even arranged for a campaign ticker tape parade in Sacramento, California, with motorcycle officers escorting a convertible occupied by … wait for it … nobody.

I am not sure what Wavy Gravy’s opinion on the current Presidential campaign might be, but I have a feeling that, if asked, he would use his razor wit to make us think carefully about the choices we face … he might even cause us to reflect back upon the points he was making in 1976.

 

The Road to Woodstock

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Just finished reading Michael Lang’s book titled “The Road to Woodstock.”  Lang was one of the organizers of the 1969 Festival, and his book gave an excellent overview of all the highs (no pun intended) and lows of putting on this iconic event.  I had the good fortune to be assigned there as a member of the Dutchess County (NY) Sheriff’s Office, and it was a remarkable experience!  In his book Lang focused, primarily, on the work of contracting the bands and the plethora of other services that would be required for a gathering of this magnitude.  He also wrote of the crush of people, the traffic, the mud and a number of other things that I remember very well.  This was a good read which provided an excellent refresher on some of the details that have faded over the years.