It does not seem like Woodstock was forty years ago. I was reading the Bible recently, which is what ministers do sometimes, and came across the feeding of the 5,000. This crowd of people came to see Jesus, because they hoped he had an answer for their problems.
At Woodstock 400,000 to 500,000 young adults came out looking for answers to the problems of the Viet Nam war, the oppression they felt from the establishment, and even the problems of “free sex.” They had not only been ostracized by parents and the older members’ of society (adults), but also by organized religion. It was certainly true of the Christian Church.
No one (older people) wanted Woodstock to take place in their community. Even Middletown, NY, (Walton Township) enacted unconstitutional laws to keep the event from their area. The churches were supportive of these laws also. In fact this was a blessing, because the event did not have time to set up new fences. They were only expecting 20,000, but you know what happened.
How did I get there? One night a friend of mine, from San Francisco, who was in the security section of Woodstock, came over to see me. We had not seen each other for many years and he had brought a large bottle of wine for our reunion. We ate and drank way into the night when the Spirit (or spirits from the wine) hit me and I had a great idea. Why not have a chaplain at the festival?
My friend agreed with me and said he would take it to the principals. Three days late he called back and said it was set up with a salary and part of a mobile office at the site.
I did not know it at the time, but my troubles were just about to start.
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