18 August 15 • 2019
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oodstock — the name alone
conjures something groovy,
gigantic and groundbreak-
ing. In American culture, Woodstock
was monumentally historical for the
music and so much more.
Fifty years ago, on Aug.15, 1969,
about half a million people — 10 times
the anticipated number — descended
upon the town of Bethel in upstate
New York to be part of the peaceful,
life-altering three-day music fest forever
known as Woodstock. The anniversary
is bittersweet, however. Just a few weeks
before the 50th anniversary concert
planned for Aug. 16-18, it was canceled
after countless setbacks.
But 50 years ago, they came from all
over the country to experience some of
the most talented musicians of all time
— 31 acts ranging from the famous to
the relatively unknown. Richie Havens
took the stage first at 5 p.m. that Friday.
Jimi Hendrix concluded the festival at
9 a.m. Monday with his blazing “Star-
Spangled Banner.”
“When Jimi Hendrix played the
‘
Star Spangled Banner’
at the end, I
was floored. I could hear the bombs
and devastation in his interpretation.
I cried,” recalls Ann Abrams, who last
year moved to Ann Arbor, “where there
are still people who hold the values of
Woodstock close to their hearts and live
them daily.”
Woodstock was spearheaded by four
Jewish promoters — Michael Lang,
Artie Kornfield, Joel Rosenman and
John Roberts. But it was Max Yasgur
who literally saved the day after the
town of Woodstock, N.Y., declined to
host the event. He offered his 600-acre
dairy farm about 50 miles away. The
neighbors started protesting and boy-
cotting his milk, but Yasgur, the son of
Russian Jewish immigrants, leased his
farm out anyway and became an instant
counterculture hero.
Legend has it that four years after
Woodstock, and two years before his
untimely death at age 53, Yasgur visited
Israel and announced to retired Prime
Minister David Ben-Gurion: “I’
m Max
Yasgur of Bethel.” Ben-Gurion replied,
“Oh, yeah, that’
s where Woodstock was,
wasn’
t it?”
Here’
s what local Detroiters had to
say about the iconic, legendary music
event that forever shaped their lives.
ANN ABRAMS
Abrams was 17 and about to graduate
from high school in Mount Vernon,
N.Y. Her boyfriend then, Jay Grossman,
had just finished his
freshman year at C.W
.
Post College and bought
them tickets, which she
still has framed.
“It was extraor-
dinary. A peaceful,
huge crowd of tie-
dyed, bandana-clad,
blue jean-wearing contemporaries, all
joyfully arriving together. It felt like
heaven,” says Abrams, who has lived in
Michigan for more than 25 years. “The
sound of the music was incredible. As
Richie Havens played ‘
Freedom,’
it was
more than inspiring. I remember think-
ing, ‘
I’
ll never forget this. And I still
haven’
t.’
”
Everyone shared food with each
other — and marijuana, long before it
was legal. “It was legal there, it seemed,”
she says.
So much music. So much talent. So
much rain.
“Luckily, I brought two pairs of san-
dals because I left one buried in the
mud,” she says. “There were no fights,
no arguments and it truly was like a
dream. It was so powerful. We were all
so against the war in Vietnam,
and it felt like we were communicating
a message to those in charge.
“I consider Woodstock one of
the pivotal moments of my life,” she
says. “It was transformative.”
On the 20th anniversary of the sec-
ond day of Woodstock, Aug. 16, 1989,
Abrams’
son was born. “I kept calling
him Woody — for Woodstock. His
name is Isaac, but Woodstock was still
on my mind.”
MARK KELLER
Keller was a sophomore at Wayne
State University when he flew to
Rochester, N.Y., and
then hitchhiked to
Bethel. And like the
thousands who got
caught in the 10-mile
traffic backup —
deemed the largest traf-
fic jam in the history of
the Catskills — Keller
got out of the car and walked the last
JULIE SMITH YOLLES SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
jews d
in
the
Locals share indelible memories of three days of peace, love and music.
“I remember thinking, ‘
I’
ll never forget
this. And I still haven’
t.”
— ANN ABRAMS
c
t
so against the war in Vietnam,
and it felt like we were communicating
c.
c.
Main photo: Day 3 of Woodstock, Bethel,
N.Y., Aug. 17, 1969.
Bottom photos: These are from Ann
Abrams of Ann Arbor, including the
pup tent she shared with her
boyfriend at Woodstock..
WOODSTOCK WHISPERER/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Ann Abrams
COURTESY ANN ABRAMS
Mark Keller
COURTESY MARK KELLER
Woodstock’s50th