TRR photo by Chris Conroy Mick Davis stopped by the monument to the 1969 Woodstock concert to pay his tribute to the spirit of the 60s in song. “Maybe on the 100th anniversary we’ll all be here again…they’ll have the technology to bring back all the music that’s happened over the past 100 years.” (Click for larger image)

Still groovy after 34 years

By CHRIS CONROY

BETHEL, NY — “I wrote a song I think is perfect for this spot,” said Mick Davis. “It’s called ‘Paradox.’”

Davis was one of the many people who visited the concrete and cast iron monument on the corner of Hurd and West Shore Roads this past weekend. Later, he was planning on playing at the reunion going on at Yasgur Road.

On an average weekend, there’s bound to be a few visitors to the site, but on an anniversary weekend, a steady stream of people come and go, often filling the small parking area completely.

For many, a trip to the Woodstock site is a regular event. Ralph “Gypsy” Corwin, who made his way to the 1969 concert, said he comes to the site regularly. He finds it relaxing.

Others stop by on their way to other places. A group of college students from North Carolina were on their second trip through the area. They decided it would be neat to stop and see the monument.

There are also people like David Pollen from Greenfield, MA. This was his first visit to the site since he attended the original concert.

	TRR photo by Chris Conroy David Pollen, right, and Tim Vielleti were on their first visit to the site since they made the trip from Massachusetts in 1969. They didn’t get to the concert until Saturday and left on Sunday. (Click for larger image)

“We’ve been talking about it,” he said. “We were talking about coming in for the 25th anniversary. One thing or another came up [and we didn’t do it.] We said: Let’s just do it this year.”

Pollen and his friends, Tim Vielmetti, James Grant and John Furgus had actually bought tickets for the 1969 show. Vielmetti (who made the road trip with him this time, too) had to work Friday night, so their Dodge Opal didn’t hit Sullivan County until Saturday. On the way up they heard the announcements on the radio encouraging people to turn back and about the terrible traffic conditions.

“We parked about a mile out of White Lake,” Pollen said. They made the hike in to the site just in time to catch Santana on stage and stayed on site until about 1:00 a.m. “It was so crowded down in the front,” he said, that he picked his legs up when up front near the stage and supported by the crowd, didn’t even come close to falling.

Then they went back to their car to sleep.

When they woke up in the morning, it was pouring.

“We didn’t think the rest of the festival would be going on,” he said. So they left. They didn’t even take any pictures.

“It didn’t look like a golf course then,” Vielmetti said.

Aside from the activity at the monument, there were two major gatherings to mark the 34th year since traffic on the New York State Thruway was blocked. One was a small gathering at Hector’s Inn organized by Clint Partridge, and the other was the annual massive gathering at Yasgur’s Farm run by Roy Howard and Jeryl Abramson.

“It was the vibe everyone wanted,” Partridge said of the free two-day gathering at Hector’s that started Friday night.

	TRR photo by Chris Conroy Ralph “Gypsy” Corwin shares his Woodstock memories with others who came to visit the site on the 34th anniversary weekend. (Click for larger image)

The music, he said, was “absolutely wonderful” and provided a cathartic experience for the audience. “It was a purging of emotions by a work of art,” he said.

The other event, running without permit from the town as usual, drew over 2,000 people, even with a price tag of $25 per person.

“We had the greatest people here,” said Abramson who was impressed Monday morning that the fields were almost completely clear of trash and other festival leftovers.

“We did get hurt quite a bit by the blackout,” she said. “We would have had a few more people if it weren’t for that.”

According to Bethel Supervisor Allan Scott, he hadn’t gotten any negative calls about any of the events that had gone on. That, he said, made it a good weekend in his book.

Rain, a constant of the Woodstock experience, was scarce this time around. It did still hit, though, briefly Sunday morning.