The mass gathering saw plenty of nudity, stoned sex,
and unfettered hedonism, which predictably drew some pearl-clutching in
certain quarters. But when all was said and done, Woodstock got some
pretty smash reviews from the Establishment.and eventually more than eight times that number
showed up, giving organizers little choice but to make
the event free. Almost half a million young people
in the dank August heat—many of them high on a
smorgasbord of drugs—thrown together in a farmer’s
field with no parents or authority figures in sight.
What could possibly go wrong?
Plenty did. Traffic proved a nightmare, clogging
the New York State Thruway and back roads around
the region. Facilities were strained beyond bursting,
leading to food and water
shortages—and you can
imagine the lines for the
porta potties. Drenching
rains threatened electrical
equipment and turned the site
into a vast mud bath.
But on the whole,
Woodstock was a triumph of
the hippie ethos. The festival
saw very few incidents
of violence or unrest. It’s
believed three people died:
one from a heroin overdose,
one from a burst appendix,
and the other was accidentally
run over by a tractor while
sleeping. To the extent it was
needed, a benevolent “Please
Force” helped maintain order
and also run the kitchen. These gentle souls included
members of the Hog Farm commune, a group of peace
advocates and hallucinogen aficionados connected
with writer Ken Kesey’s Merry Pranksters (known
for traveling the country in a psychedelically painted
bus—see page 32—and organizing LSD parties).
Woodstock would make a counterculture star of
the Hog Farm’s genial founder, Hugh Romney, a.k.a.
Wavy Gravy (see page 31), a lovable jester and social
activist who was a ubiquitous presence at the festival
and remains, at age 83, a cherished ’60s icon. The
mass gathering saw plenty of nudity, stoned sex, and
unfettered hedonism, which predictably drew some
pearl-clutching in certain quarters. But when all was
said and done, Woodstock got some pretty smash
reviews from the Establishment.
“Time magazine weighed in,” Perlstein says. “Now,
Time was always the voice of reassurance, suggesting
that bad things happen in America but fundamental
decency would find its way. The magazine called
Woodstock ‘history’s biggest happening’ and ‘one of
the significant political and sociological events of the
age,’ and referred to the attendees as ‘pilgrims.’ ” The
New York Times had initially scoffed at the muddy
doings up the thruway, but the Paper of Record
reversed itself after Time magazine’s laudatory
take came out. “The Times
essentially called Woodstock
a phenomenon of innocence,”
Perlstein said, which was seen
as a welcome ray of light. “The
news had been so dark when
it came to young people.
There was a continuing spiral
of militancy.”
Though nonviolent,
Woodstock was revolutionary
in its own way, symbolizing a
generation resolved to cast
off the shackles of staid,
Eisenhower-era America
and to embrace a liberating
openness—intellectually,
spiritually, and sexually. “Look
at TV’s Mad Men, and you see
how shockingly hierarchical
and rigid the cultural mores were until the late ’60s—
then you see something undeniable happen,” Perlstein
says. “All sorts of aesthetic markers of what’s acceptable
become looser—wearing a beard used to be considered
a provocative act that got people beaten up. When
POWs come home from Vietnam, they’re sort of like
these Rip Van Winkles returning post-Woodstock to
these sexually liberated wives, and a lot of them are
freaking out. By the same token, there was also this
very strong movement among conservatives against
sex ed. One of the leaders would wave around a LIFE
magazine special issue on Woodstock and say, ‘This
is what we’re up against, naked kids cavorting in the
river.’ Woodstock became this key symbol; you can’t
argue that when people think of what loosened things
up in America, Woodstock is the story.” l9