I hadn't heard of the concert until several days before it happened. A friend of mine, Terry (who has since passed from this realm), told me there was going to be a concert in
upstate N.Y. that The Beatles were going to play at. Of course, The Beatles were not going to play, but that was enough to get me ready to drive up there. We heard there were going to be 1,000,000 people, so we got there a day early. It was about 90 miles northwest of here in NJ.

When we got close to it there were many cars and people walking all over. We got up there around 6:00pm and parked down west of the stage about 1/4 mile, by a small pond. We relaxed a little and then sat around a campfire with 3 girls, who may have been from Mass. They seemed very straight laced and really were not too friendly.

Just as the sun began to go down a jeep came cranking around the bend, where we were, and a long haired passenger shouted "Get High Brothers" and tossed a bag of something towards us. It landed in our midst and that seemed to be the beginning of a really rockin' few days. We began to walk around and noticed that it was beginning to become very active compared to just an hour or so earlier. We began to meet people from all over the country.

I met a fellow and his wife who had driven out from Indiana in a Milk delivery truck they had painted psychedelic. He was sitting in the back surrounded by a number of large bags and I was speaking with him through a side panel in the truck, which he had opened. As we were speaking he decided to tell me that all of these large bags were filled with marijuana he had grown in Indiana. He was selling it. I saw him the next day and it was all gone. Shortly after that his truck moved and I did not see them again. I did feel an immediate bond with that fellow as we spoke, as if we had known each other previously.

The next day things began to awaken. We began to hear electronic sounds coming from the stage area and walked towards them to see what was up. We constantly met people and there was a great atmosphere. People were playing guitars and singing from their campsites and there was a general feeling of things being good.

As time went by, everything became muddy and wet. As I was halfway between the stage area and our site it began to pour very hard. I went under a sheet metal roof they had set up near a vender selling what appeared to be food. I just sat on some logs to get out of the rain and a girl who looked very young sat next to me. She asked me if I’d like to smoke some opium and pulled out something which looked like tar and smelled like perfume. While we were talking she said “Uh oh I’d better get up. Here comes my old man” and I saw a guy coming who looked at least 35 years old, which seemed OLD at that time. He was either her boyfriend or husband and gave me a very dangerous look.
They left and I did not see her again.

Many other memorable events happened during those few days. We got there a day early and left a day late, to avoid the crush of the exit. I sometimes wonder how people I met there made out in life. Life has been good to me. I hope all those I shared that time with have had a really excellent trip down through these years.

Rick C
Long Valley, NJ