WOODSTOCK MEETS WALPACK

Back when Vietnam, Kent State and Richard Nixon were making headlines... Jefferson Airplane, Jethro Tull and James Taylor ALMOST played a concert just up the road from Camp.

Here's the story of the "Music Festival that Never Happened"...

(click on the picture to download a PDF of the story)
Scott Swerdlin was on his way back to Camp - just sitting in the back of the Red truck with the rest of the Division 5 Boys - revelling in the 6-4 win against Logs and Twigs' Softball Team. Crossing the Dingman's Ferry Bridge, he glimpsed several signs along the road proclaiming, "FESTIVAL CANCELLED". "What's that all about ?", he wondered. No sooner did he stop to ponder the matter when his concentration was broken by the sounds of First Call resonating through the forest. It was almost time for Lunch. The mystery would have to wait - for now.

Scott would finish the summer (and the decade) without finding out just what the mystery was, but he never stopped wondering...

Fast forward 38 years... Scott's chance re-connection to some old Campmates via internet... a history buff's chance discovery of some Campers who spent summers right in the heart of his cherished boyhood home... a flurry of e-mails... and the story of the "Music Festival that Never Happened" begins to take shape...

Let's watch it unfold as we read the recollections of Don Stieh, the history "buff" who was there...

------------------------------

It was the summer of 1970. I had just finished my freshman year at Rutgers. Kent State, Earth Day, and Vietnam War protests were all fresh in my mind. The Generation Gap was in evidence everywhere - it was the Establishment against the Counterculture... and the "battle lines" were about to be drawn in our own little corner of the world - Walpack Township.

Having missed Woodstock the previous summer, my friends and I were psyched for the Harmonyville Music Festival - 6 days of Rock 'n Roll by some of the biggest names in Rock - Jefferson Airplane, Jethro Tull, Richie Havens, Chicago ! Even as we looked forward to it, we knew the devastating effect it might have on our magnificent valley - several hundred thousand people trampling through our backyard could wreak havoc on the environment. I was torn, but still eager to party !

The site of the Festival was the Radcliff Farm, right along the River and 2 miles North of Flatbrookville, on Old Mine Road. My family's place was in Walpack, just 5 miles upriver.

Most of the community was dead set against the Festival. After Woodstock, the images of mud-soaked humanity, roads clogged for miles in all directions and mountains of trash were nightmares we didn't want. Public pressure quickly developed to head off a repeat of that "disaster".

As word of the Festival spread, the outside world discovered Walpack ! Eager Festival goers started showing up early. Townspeople began to complain about naked hippies wandering around and swimming in the river. One man even claimed to have run off a trespasser with his rifle.

Eventually, the State got involved and a Court Injuction was issued, prohibiting the Festival from being held. The rationale was that Walpack was an isolated area with minimal public services, no method of crowd control and no way to ensure the health and safety of several hundred thousand Festival-goers. Newspapers featured the picture of a Police cruiser parked on the Flatbrookville Bridge, showing that it was only a single lane road, and couldn't possibly handle the volume of traffic the Festival was sure to generate.

As part of the Injunction, the Festival promoters had to advertise its cancellation. Signs were posted on all area roads.
On the two weekends leading up to the festival, all roads into Walpack were blocked by State Police - to keep out hippies and other "undesirables". I kept a copy of our Walpack Township tax bill on me at all times to show that I actually lived in the area, in case I was ever stopped by Police.

August 4th came and went without fanfare. The much ballyhooed festival never took place. All the hullaballoo died out rather quickly after that, and life in Walpack returned to "normal". Although he Establishment had won this round, and protected us from the much feared "hippie assault" on our environment... it would be the Establishment itself that would eventually destroy the Walpack we knew and loved... in their pursuit of the Tocks Island Dam Project. It would take the environmental movement - itself, an offspring of the counterculture, to eventually defeat the Dam project... but not until after we were dispossessed of our community.

------------------------------

And so, the circle closes. One boy's curiosity turns out to be an entire chapter in another man's life and their convergence, 38 years later, solves a mystery for one and leaves bittersweet memories for the other. But out of this convergence, another chapter is opened in the History of Walpack... that of Camp Pokono Ramona.

(thanks to Scott Swerdlin for pursuing his long-time curiosity about this event, and to Don Stieh, of the Walpack Historical Society, for bringing the details to light)

PLAYING GUITAR (Caren Riback)

I remember the girls in the "guitar picture" from Mendy's Picture Album. That was my sister Janie's Bunk (27). They all played the guitar.

My sister wasn't in the picture, but Marsha Pressman is the dark-haired girl playing guitar and Marsha Stapleman is the red head lying on the bed next to her. Their sisters Carol Pressman and Linda Stapleman were my friends. The next year I taught myself guitar so I could be cool like my big sister.

HORSEBACK RIDING (Stu Benvenisty)

If I remember correctly, the stables were a mile or two away from Camp and run by a couple of women. We were driven there in the red truck and dropped off for a few hours.

They had a training ring and trails that were a couple of miles long. Once a summer they had a "rodeo" that the campers participated in. The stables were one of the highlights of my Camp experience.

WORKING AT THE POOL (Richie Mandor)

Originally, I worked for the head of the Waterfront - I gave a lot of swimming lessons. A bunch of Waterfront Staff quit or were fired and they were short-staffed, so they give me a chance at running the Pool by myself.

The folllowing summer, I was hired to run the Pool. Joe Grundfest (Billy's older brother) and I shared the responsibilties; I ran the swims and he took care of the lessons.

RETRIEVING THE SUNKEN BOAT (Mark Jonas)

The motorboat was not brand-new and it wasn't well-cared-for in the off-season. The first task us Waterfront guys had was finding the boat.

For some reason, it had been left in the water and it sank. So, we had to find it, drag it out of the water, and pull the starter cord more times than I can remember to get the water out of the engine.

I learned how to water-ski at Camp, before the campers arrived. The rest of my swimming and boating credentials were on more solid ground.

BOB BIEDERMAN'S MOTORCYCLE (Mark Jonas)

Bob Biederman, another Waterfront Counselor, had a very powerful BMW motorcycle. Riding on the back of it at 80 mph made a lasting impression.

THE BLUE "BOMB" (CAR)

The car was used to move supplies and equipment around Camp. Each year, the Fullers would pick up a couple of really old cars just for this purpose.

ROADTRIP TO SEE THE ROLLING STONES (Bobby Ingerman)

Three of us squeezed into the Steve Tirsch's Triumph Spitfire to see the Stones at Madison Square Garden during the summer of 1972. I was squished in behind the seats for the entire ride. Stevie Wonder opened the show. The boys from the Waterfront rocked !!!

FARINA FOR RINA - AND MEYER (David Zellman)

I was the waiter in the small Dining Room. Mendy's kids were Mayer and Rina. Pauline (Mendy's wife) would ask me, "what's today's hot cereal" and I would say. "Farina" and she would say, "for Mayer, too". What a hoot.

WEST SIDE STORY (David Zellman)

In the summer of 1970, we put on the play, West Side Story. For the song, "Officer Krupke", we had to promise Mendy that we would say "Krup You" at the end. Mendy wasn't sure we'd keep our promise, so we did separate shows for the younger and the older kids.

We were "good" for the first show. For the second show, Steve Dick (the Director) wasn't the least bit surprised that "Krup" didn't start with an "K".

FLAGPOLE "SURPRISE"

During dinner, one summer (1962 or 63), several Guy counselors went to the Girl's Bunks and grabbed every bra they could find, hooked them together and raised them up the Girls' flagpole. It was some "salute" when everyone came out of the Dining Room !

THE WEINTRAUB BROTHERS' DAY OFF

My brother and I shared a 1960 Chevy Super Sport Impala convertible (1962-1965). On our days off, we would go across the Dingman's Ferry toll bridge onto PA Route 209, and head towards Port Jervis. Then we would go to Monticello. We would eat at Kaplan's (the Kosher deli there), go shopping, see a movie and eat at the Italian restaurant. Afterwards, we headed back to Camp. It was about 100 miles, round-trip.

MARTY KOVE (Jeff Messinger)

In 1966, someone decided that the waiters needed a Counselor. At the time, we were bunked on lower campus. Marmaro, Greenberg, Mandor, Goldberg and I were all first-year waiters.

The guy who was our "counselor" was a struggling young actor from NYC whose claim to fame was the he could throw a softball harder than anyone alive. He also managed to get fired with about a week of Camp left. His name - Marty Kove, who went on to fame as a regular in the TV show, "Cagney and Lacey" and the movie, "The Karate Kid."

WHERE'S THE GOLF COURSE ? (Marty Borell)

Steve Lieberman and I were Campers for the first time together and he showed up at the school in Laurelton to meet the buses with a pair of golf clubs! Boy, was he sold a "bill of goods".

FOUND MY HUSBAND AT CAMP (Anne Berman)

Bob and I met during the summer of 1970. It was his first year as a Counselor, and my fourth year at Camp (as Camper then Counselor). A week before Camp was over, Bob got fired - for falling alseep in my bed, while my Campers were in the Bunk. Mendy said that he had to set an example. We were married 3 years later - and just celebrated our 34th Anniversary.

BEHIND THE SCENES (Ira Mandor)

Everyone remembers me for driving the Red Truck all around Camp (and everywhere else); here are some of my activities that Campers may not know about:

- I bought gas for the Truck right across from the Mo. The gas station was owned by Red Fuller's brother-in-law.
- I set up most of the Campfires and the July 4th fireworks.
- I brought Bimmies to Camp (and to the bus station when they got fired). They came from an Agency in Monticello called "Dependable" (and were anything but)
- I brought Campers to the Doctor, the Dentist and the Hospital. There were broken bones, concussions, knocked-out teeth and stitches. Parents were contacted after we knew the Camper's "status". I made many trips to the Hospital in the middle of the night on "less than ideal" roads.
- I did the Camp's banking.
- I was involved in breaking out Colorwar and knew many weeks ahead when it would break out.

How did I end up at Camp ? My father and Mendy's wife (Pauline) grew up in the same apartment building in the Bronx. So, we knew each other's families. I was a Camper for many years, a Waiter, and Head Waiter for 2 years.

BOWLING SHOES

One outing the oldest boys, girls and waiters took in 1966 was to a bowling alley in Sparta. A few of us "took" some bowling shoes back to Camp.

We had to bring them to line-up the next morning. Mendy was not happy with us and that was the end of bowling in Sparta for that summer.

"HERE COMES THE SUN" REPLACES REVEILLE

When Steve Neuhaus became Head Counselor in 1970 we thought it was a perfect time to get rid of the standard reveille - and we did! We replaced it with the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun", instead. It was Big Mess' idea.

PIZZA AND GOATS

In the late 40's and possibly into the early 50's, the kids used to take a day trip to Poison Pete's to roller skate and eat pizza. It was halfway between Camp and Newton (I think on Highway 206).

I was introduced to Pizza for the first time in my life there.

--------------------

In the early 50's, there were a couple of goats at Camp, which roamed all summer long and kept the grass trimmed.

POKONO "SOCCER PROS"

In the late 40's or early 50's (for a couple of years) the kitchen help consisted of many members of the semi-pro "Greek Americans" soccer team. They were in a league that held a lot of games in Astoria and on a field in Jamaica, Queens.

When the kitchen help finished their duties, they would practice on the field by the tents, putting on a real show for us kids, bouncing balls on their heads, dribbling balls off their knees and heads, etc. Great fun.

For years afterward I used to look up their league standing, which was posted in the now defunct Long Island Press.

A COLORWAR TALE

Division Heads were not allowed to work on creating Colorwar scenery or banners (but they were allowed to guide us).
Richie Hofflich was a Division Head when I was a General for the Grey Team. He is artistically talented, so he would use his TOE to direct my paint strokes.

MARSHA PRESSMAN'S BET

When I was the Water skiing counselor, living in S1 with all the other specialty Counselors, (we were worse then any kids bunk) Rich Hofflich was the Division Head of the 9 - 10 year olds.

He and I made some silly bet and I won. The prize was that he had to shave my legs outdoors, in front of all his campers! And so he did!

MYRON REMEMBERS THE ST. MORITZ INN

I remember the St. Moritz Inn - 1962-66. Marv Fleischman (Boys Head Counselor, myself and my brother Dave used to go there some afternoons for beers and many evenings (with Marv's wife Lee), for some good meals.

I even remember one incident at night where Marv caught some older teenagers from another camp at the Inn. They had snuck onto campus to the infirmary (earlier in the day) which was in Siberia and peeked in the windows. Marv really scared them one night at the Inn (he grabbed one kid by the neck and just pulled him out of the chair), and they never bothered Pokono-Ramona again.

I also remember when some of the waiters in '62 broke Ted Blecker's (a counselor) nose in a fight. We had some very tough camper waiters in 1962. Towards the end of that summer (I think), some were arrested for stealing cases of beer from the Inn. I think the owners took care of the "arrest" and the boys were sent home.

Myron Weintraub
Bunk 6 in 1962 Color War General of the Maroon team-theme New Yorkers (my nickname for the next 4 years became Myroon), and I was the General of the Maroon Team for 4 years.

Division Head 63-65
Athletic Director 66

BOB FREID'S WALK INTO CAMP

I distinctly remember the entrance to Camp and recall a sign by the stream/brook that said "Lake Success". You could see the St. Moritz Inn from this point and the buses would slowly turn up the road over the bridge to head into Camp.

I recall passing the infirmary/Siberia after a few hundred yards on the right side of the road. After another few hundred yards you entered Camp, passing the Totem Poles / Indian signs with the Camp names on it.

Just as you entered, you would see the archery range on your right, which also was the site for large campfire activities at night. Also on this site was a newly built cabin in 1964 for Marv and Lee Fleischman.

Across the road from the archery range was the rifle range with the wooden wall with paper targets on it. Just after these ranges on either side of the gravel road you would see the girls campus on the left and the boys campus on the right. Straight ahead you would see the Roundhouse, the large circular track and two ballfields enclosed by the track.

ANOTHER BOB FREID RECOLLECTION

Myron Weintraub and his brother Dave made one scared kid's first sleep away experience tremendous.

I was at Pokono from 1963-1966. Dave was the Bunk 2 Counselor in 1963 and his Junior Counselor's first name was Leo. Myron arrived a few weeks late into Camp that summer and stayed in my Bunk 3.

Ken, Artie and Sam Brand were also in this bunk as Counselors. I believe that Artie was from Yonkers and worked at the Waterfront and Sam also had some specialty that he presided over for this summer.

Because of the positive experience that I had at Pokono, I went on to become a Counselor at another camp years later and also an Athletic Director and boys Head Counselor at a few camps and also worked for the American Camping Association for one summer.