Within A Nation Torn – Concluded

Some where between the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War conflict, Americans seemed to have woke up and to a new dawn.   No matter their gender, their age, or their ethnicity, people were stirred. It has been said that never before the 60s, had there been as many culture changes within a society, than in that 10 years span.

In the 20s America had the flappers. In the 30s we had the depression. In the 40s we had more depression. In the 50s we had, have you tried college yet? In the 60s, we had, have you tried everything, yet? And we had the counterculture. A unique set of Baby Boomers, who danced to the beat of a different drummer.

Post War I era, is the Lost Generation, the 20s, the flappers. An era that it is said, to have rejected traditional values and a time where American writers, artists, musicians, established their literary reputations. A time of celebratory wealth in this country, like it hadn’t seen before, or since. Americans had gained mobility and were on the move, with the invention of the automobile.

The Silent Generation and they experienced the Great Depression that followed. They worked hard, and kept their head down, quite the opposite of the generation before. It is through hard work and determination one would make something of themselves and rise up and out of this depression, where a man found himself feeling lucky if he could find a job.

It wasn’t luck, it was hard work.

The Silent Generation made much more aware of their neighbors and what they may think, so you paid attention to what you might say. They didn’t speak about their personal politics. No one liked communism. Therefore, a person didn’t want to make a mistake and say something that might be mistaken for a Communist point of view.

When the 1960s arrived with the college aged, young adult, what began as a non rebellious era, soon erupted, bringing the values from both the Lost Generation and the Silent Generation, into mainstream living. Whatever the Baby Boomers goals were for their professional careers, their personal lives reflected their expectations. They rejected the traditional idea, where as, the children would follow in their parent’s footsteps, in their chosen career paths. They utilized the hard work and the determination of that of their parents though, because doing it different, means you’re going to have to work harder to make it happen.

By the end of the 60s the entertainment industry gained momentum, where as most every home had a television in it. The radio went everywhere a person traveled, in their car, or on the beach, or to the lake with a portable radio to carry. Because of that, radio was the number one choice for advertisers in the media, of the era before the Internet.

1969

The U.S. Marines were sent to fight in Vietnam. The Beatles appeared on American television, and 450,000 people jammed the Woodstock Music and Art Fair Aquarian Exposition.

Describing the ten year span of the 60s as a time of the most cultural changes, it seems fitting that the era ends with Woodstock, a music festival that seemed to take on a life of its own. Much like the German folklore tale of the Pied Piper (an individual who dared to lure children with his magical musical instrument) young adults flocked from all across the U.S and Canada to a dairy farm in New York, to listen to their favorite musicians. Who knew at the time that a, three-day, music and art festival would become an event that would later define a whole culture of a generation?

The original venue for the music and art festival was the town of Wallkill, N.Y,  however, Woodstock Ventures, Inc were banned from holding the event there. Saying then that, they were expecting the art and music festival to attract 100,000 persons. The next proposed site was 600 acres located in Bethel/White Lake N.Y of Sullivan County. (White Lake is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in the town of Bethel, Sullivan County, New York) The property owners of the proposed site, took out an injunction against the producers to block the three-day event. However, their differences were resolved the day before the hearing, but the details of the settlement were not revealed. (pg 3, The Kingston Daily Freeman, Wednesday Evening, August 13, 1969)

The actual ticket count sold was 150,000 tickets, however, 300,000 additional folks showed up. The tickets were described by those who attended, without purchasing a ticket, as unfair to youngsters. The cost for one day was $7.00 and to stay the entire three-days was $18.00. (pg 3, The Kingston Daily Freeman, Wednesday Evening, August 13, 1969) The week of the festival it began to rain and continued to do so, throughout the festival. Those that were tasked with fencing off an area for the ticket bearers, were not able to complete their task, due to soggy ground, left by the rain.

For three-days, the multitude of people, who attended the festival (those that didn’t fall to the wayside of their journey) did so peacefully. There were no reports of violence, however, there were persons arrested for possession and sales of narcotics and a few for carrying pistols. There were thousands that were treated for assorted injuries as well as few accidental deaths, however, to anyone’s knowledge, no fights broke out. William Abruzzi, the physician in charge of the festival’s medical operations said, “these people are really beautiful”. (pg 1, The Kingston Daily Freeman, Monday Evening, August 18, 1969)

On the third day, when the music stopped, all 450,000 people began peacefully making their way home.