Woodstock
August, 1969
So, here's my own Woodstock story:
In August, 1969 (it may have been the 15th or 16th), I was 9 years old and riding in the car with my father. We were returning from a trip 'downstate,' to New York City, and heading for my hometown 'upstate,' in Delaware County.
Back then, when returning from the City, such a trip involved taking route 17 north up to Monticello, then taking state road 178 northwest through Bethel to Callicoon, and then north from Callicoon to Hancock.
It was afternoon, and well before reaching Bethel we were astonished when traffic slowed to a crawl. As we puttered along, we saw young people - 'hippies' - streaming along the sides of the road, where cars were parked front-to-bumper. What on earth was going on in this little patch of the Catskills ?! It took us a long time to drive clear of the congestion and continue on our way.
There was no internet back then, so it was only when my father consulted the New York Daily News that we learned that we had passed through a massive music festival called 'Woodstock.' The New York Times had a story on the festival, too.
