Today in History (See story below post):
It's funny how I was only about 6 1/2 years old but I remember this so vividly.... Our summer house was in Masten Lake, NY so we were vacationing up there during the time frame for the concert (If I only saved the newspaper articles from those dates....). People were walking to the concert from miles away, We saw people on our roads asking how far to the concert (Only about 30 or so minutes by car going 55 miles per hour but walking, gosh who knows). The news on the tv made it out to be so scary, that things were out of control. My mother was worried, she told us to stay away from the roads and not to talk to anyone. It was just so crazy! The tv showed pictures of Route 17 (a major highway) closed - It had cars parked on both sides of it. Everyone you spoke to said "Stay away from that area"! A few of my older cousins tried to make there way over to the concert but all the roads were pretty much blocked. Our vacation was over around the same time as the concert (Not sure if it was one or two days after) but we were driving home with these folks. It was "amazing", such an eye opener to what other type of people were out there.... Some folks were riding on the outside of the cars - I guess just catching a ride. People were also taking baths in the ponds along the highway - My mom was like don't look! The roads were pretty jammed and we were moving slowly - People were giving my cousin Kim & I peace signs as they passed us, We started doing it back to them but my parents saw us and yelled.
It really was an amazing time, How so many people could be in one place and be so peaceful with one another! It is just one of those mameories that I will never forget : )
Some pictures I found of the event: http://www.woodstock69.com/woodstock_pics2.htm
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August 17: General Interest1969 : Woodstock Music Festival concludesOn this day in 1969, the grooviest event in music history--theWoodstock Music Festival--draws to a close after three days of peace,love and rock 'n' roll in upstate New York.Conceived as "Three Days of Peace and Music," Woodstock was a productof a partnership between John Roberts, Joel Rosenman, Artie Kornfieldand Michael Lang. Their idea was to make enough money from the eventto build a recording studio near the arty New York town of Woodstock.When they couldn't find an appropriate venue in the town itself, thepromoters decided to hold the festival on a 600-acre dairy farm inBethel, New York--some 50 miles from Woodstock--owned by Max Yasgur.By the time the weekend of the festival arrived, the group had sold atotal of 186,000 tickets and expected no more than 200,000 people toshow up. By Friday night, however, thousands of eager early arrivalswere pushing against the entrance gates. Fearing they could notcontrol the crowds, the promoters made the decision to open theconcert to everyone, free of charge. Close to half a million peopleattended Woodstock, jamming the roads around Bethel with eight milesof traffic.Soaked by rain and wallowing in the muddy mess of Yasgur's fields,young fans best described as "hippies" euphorically took in theperformances of acts like Janis Joplin, Arlo Guthrie, Joe Cocker, JoanBaez, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Grateful Dead, JeffersonAirplane, Sly and the Family Stone and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.The Who performed in the early morning hours of August 17, with RogerDaltrey belting out "See Me, Feel Me," from the now-classic albumTommy just as the sun began to rise. The most memorable moment of theconcert for many fans was the closing performance by Jimi Hendrix, whogave a rambling, rocking solo guitar performance of "The Star SpangledBanner."With not enough bathroom facilities and first-aid tents to accommodatesuch a huge crowd, many described the atmosphere at the festival aschaotic. There were surprisingly few episodes of violence, though oneteenager was accidentally run over and killed by a tractor and anotherdied from a drug overdose. A number of musicians performed songsexpressing their opposition to the Vietnam War, a sentiment that wasenthusiastically shared by the vast majority of the audience. Later,the term "Woodstock Nation" would be used as a general term todescribe the youth counterculture of the 1960s.A 25th anniversary celebration of Woodstock took place in 1994 inSaugerties, New York. Known as Woodstock II, the concert featured BobDylan and Crosby, Stills and Nash as well as newer acts such as NineInch Nails and Green Day. Held over another rainy, muddy weekend, theevent drew an estimated 300,000 people.
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