In 1969, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair drew more than 450,000 people to a pasture in Sullivan county. For four days, this sitebecame a "countercultural mini-nation" in which drugs were allbut legal, music was plenty, and love was free. The music beganFriday afternoon at 5:07 p.m. August 15, and continued until mid-morning Monday August 18. The festival closed the New York StateThruway and created one of the nation's worst traffic jams. Italso inspired a bunch of local and state laws to ensure thatnothing like it would ever happen again.Woodstock was the idea of four young men: John Roberts, JoelRosenman, Artie Kornfeld and Michael Lang. The oldest of the fourwas 26. Their original odea was to have it in Wallkill, New York,but the residents objected so greatly, that the site was thentaken to a farm about eight miles outside of Bethel, N.Y. ,population 3,900. There was objections from this city as well,but a permit had already been purchased to have a concert, so notmuch could be done about it.Although the conditions were terrible, (Lack of food, sparsesanitation facilities, drugs and alcohol, mud, to name a few)there were no violent acts at the festival.DRUGSDrugs were a problem at the festival, nearly ninety percent ofthe people there were smoking marijuana. There were no violenceproblems though. Approximately one hundred percent of the 33people arrested were charged with drug-related charges.FOODFood shortage was a problem since so many people showed up whothe festival organizers wree not prepared for. Only 60,000people were expected to attend, yet on the first day alone,500,000 frankfurters and hamburgers were consumed. Constantairlifts were being operated from the site and outlying areas,bringing in a total of 1,300 pounds of canned food, sandwiches,and fruit. In fact, the food problems were so great that theWomen's Group of the Jewish Community Center of Monticello andthe Sisters of the Convent of St. Thomas prepare...
