By Frank “Smokin” Truatt
It’s that time of year when memories of the great Woodstock festival of 1969 seem to come up in conversation. This Friday, the 15th, marks another anniversary of the event in Bethel, New York. I was talking the other day to someone who lived a short distance away from the concert and was able to attend and then work her way back home at the end of each day. Although not immersed in the full glory of Woodstock, it had to be refreshing to get home for a shower and a comfortable bed after a day in the mostly soggy fields of Woodstock. She did have tickets to the event, although as the concert rolled on, those tickets were no longer necessary. I was 15 at the time of the concert and unaware that the event was taking place, not that I would have been allowed at the time to attend!
I recently talked to another acquaintance who told me that he worked for the event planners at Woodstock. He was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam who was shot down three times while in the service, hired to use his helicopter to observe if people were sneaking into the event without paying. As we all know, the crowds were so large that it became impossible to patrol and stop people from crashing the event. His job shifted to flying performers into the concert, since there became no access for them on the crowded and closed roads. He has stories for me the next time we get together, and I can imagine they will be most interesting. He was able to land next to the stage in a fenced-in area. I asked him about the performers he met. He said that unfortunately he was into jazz, and was not familiar with rock performers.
A few years ago, we were lucky to have the couple that appeared on the cover of the Woodstock soundtrack album in the studio. Nick and Bobbi Ercoline were dating at the time and were unaware that their picture was taken and used on the album cover. It made for a great interview. Another reflection about the event was that years ago I saw Richie Havens perform at Bodles Opera House in Chester. Although decades late to the concert, I got to see the guy that was the opening act, Richie Havens. Yes, we’re still talking about Woodstock, much more than just a concert, but truly an iconic event of three days of peace and music that will more than likely never be duplicated.
