earth peoples park (new house, unemployment, movies)
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what a long strange trip it"s been,, a long, long time ago, in a land far,far away,, i went camping overnite, for a few years ,, a couple years after woodstock was the watkins glen festival, from there i went to norton,vermont. one of the last "left" turns in the state. what a collection of people! since then, i've seen movies that remind me, but back then it was all new. some of the hogfarmers, brother john, rick & marsha, jay- living in his vw van, tom & linda, bruce & ann, red rick, james & paula, wally, marie,a bunch of little children,joanie, danandave,laura,a few guys named bill, robin, morgan , kirk, beverly, burlington joe, and a few others, plus the dogs, every one got along, most of the time,, the drunks were easy to keep happy., as long as they could get their gallon of wine with food stamps. during the summers, extra people would stop and stay and come back again.. but the winters were "just us". you could be on the only road for hours, trying to hitch-hike , waiting for a car just to pass. a couple times i took the freight train to montreal, just for fun of it, -- to be continued--
what a long strange trip it"s been,, a long, long time ago, in a land far,far away,, i went camping overnite, for a few years ,, a couple years after woodstock was the watkins glen festival, from there i went to norton,vermont. one of the last "left" turns in the state. what a collection of people! since then, i've seen movies that remind me, but back then it was all new. some of the hogfarmers, brother john, rick & marsha, jay- living in his vw van, tom & linda, bruce & ann, red rick, james & paula, wally, marie,a bunch of little children,joanie, danandave,laura,a few guys named bill, robin, morgan , kirk, beverly, burlington joe, and a few others, plus the dogs, every one got along, most of the time,, the drunks were easy to keep happy., as long as they could get their gallon of wine with food stamps. during the summers, extra people would stop and stay and come back again.. but the winters were "just us". you could be on the only road for hours, trying to hitch-hike , waiting for a car just to pass. a couple times i took the freight train to montreal, just for fun of it, -- to be continued--
ten years agoe i tried lookin up "epp" on the internet, and couldn't find anything,, but i did get a responce from paula , mother of the "james gang" i think she didn't realize who i was, and we only had 1 E-mail. and then another time , @ yasgurs farm for the woodstock reunion, i think it was rite after jerry garcia died, i was standing next to a few guys, and all of of sudden, one of them looks at me, and calls my name, it was james, i had a big chunk of black hash, we hung out for a couple days, he was in white van. & he was telling me that the park was over with. i remember when he was first building their round log cabin, i've missed the woodstock gatherings the past few years,, it's not the same since cablevision took over the field, but in a couple weeks i plan on trying yasgurs front yard, it should be a good crowd,, & maybe i can catch up with james again, i've gone back to norton a couple times, stopped where the E.charleston store used to be, drove thru island puddle real slow , but i couldn't find anybody. rick & marsha were good people , even with their boston accent. wally was o.k. tom would cash his welfare check, and then have me drive him to every bar within a tankful of gas. brother john is a chapter all by himself. laura , burlington joe, n.y. billy, & a bunch of others, thinkin about it now makes me remember more than i can type,,, -- will be back later-- to be continued--
ten years agoe i tried lookin up "epp" on the internet, and couldn't find anything,, but i did get a responce from paula , mother of the "james gang" i think she didn't realize who i was, and we only had 1 E-mail. and then another time , @ yasgurs farm for the woodstock reunion, i think it was rite after jerry garcia died, i was standing next to a few guys, and all of of sudden, one of them looks at me, and calls my name, it was james, i had a big chunk of black hash, we hung out for a couple days, he was in white van. & he was telling me that the park was over with. i remember when he was first building their round log cabin, i've missed the woodstock gatherings the past few years,, it's not the same since cablevision took over the field, but in a couple weeks i plan on trying yasgurs front yard, it should be a good crowd,, & maybe i can catch up with james again, i've gone back to norton a couple times, stopped where the E.charleston store used to be, drove thru island puddle real slow , but i couldn't find anybody. rick & marsha were good people , even with their boston accent. wally was o.k. tom would cash his welfare check, and then have me drive him to every bar within a tankful of gas. brother john is a chapter all by himself. laura , burlington joe, n.y. billy, & a bunch of others, thinkin about it now makes me remember more than i can type,,, -- will be back later-- to be continued--
after a while, i started collecting out of state unemployment checks,, it took a while, but once those multiple checks started coming in, i was the richest guy on the block. when we would take a chance going to newport-- the troopers got to reconizing our vehicles-- it was fun going to grand union & getting some already cooked 'ribs',, they were really full pork chops, & then hanging out by the lake to eat them,,, gandalf's bar & the book store, walt's corner, he always had a good supply of zap comix. the closer town was island pond, the family that ran the lunchenette, ,kathy's corner was nice, when we were lucky enough to make it to town, the ride back to norton would become longer,, because now the troopers would be aware that we were around & there was only one road back up to norton, a couple times, during the summers ,early at dawn the swat teams would pull their raids, they claimed to have been looking for; abbie hoffman, patty hearst, or arabs,,, but the newspapers would say - 500 lbs. of pot seized!!! a lot of homegrown with the dirt still on the roots. good ol' green mountain green. back then columbian was 35 an oz. i remember hearing when it went to 50,but i couldn't belive it.. during the summers , as we'd be following the fiddle contests, we mite get stuck for gas/food money, i would fill an empty bag from a loaf of bread for 40$, most of the time though, we shared the weed with anyone who wanted some, the swat team raids sometimes got scary,, there's a bunch of; f.b.i, customs & immagration, state troopers, sheriffs,deputys, farmers & other citizens with all their guns loaded, waking me [ & everyone else } up before the roosters. what a way to start the day. by the time they would be getting ready to leave, most of the park people would be following them out, throwing rocks & cursing them out. a couple of times gun shots went off. i'm glad no one got killed... -- lost my hair, gained a lotta weight, still have a few teeth left -- i went to epp full of ideas & plans, but the bumper sticker is true 'crap happens' it was easy to get distracted, so much for plans & ideas.. i was so much older then , i'm smarter than that now. ---will be continued--
in the begining, i would goe just before the customs station,and make a left turn. a minute later would be the 'A' frame building ,with a few people hanging out, then goe thru the farmers field, past the mountain of cow manure, and across the farmers field. then it was as if you landed in OZ. school bus's & step vans, with flue pipes stickin out. passing groups of people, most of them asking for cigarettes, just follow the dirt roads, slippery slug hill,, ho chin minn trail, little log bridges crossing over a culvert. the old logging roads forked a couple times, & some circled back together. passing cabins that looked like hobbitts built them, depending which way you went, out back one way was the bakery. towards the the beaver ponds were the geodesic dome and pine tree barn. in between were houses ,cabins, A-frames, tents, T-pee's,huts,lean-too's and left over cars, stuttering jay spent a couple years in his v.w van .the james gang had the octagon log cabin, pretty big too. rick & marsha's had a nice place, tom & linda's had enuf space. i think kirk made his a flat roof, but it held a few years. on nite during a winter, we all gathered there , some kinda meeting, whatever,,, but we all sent a signed letter to the emperor of japan, begging him to control his country's ocean fishing, to save the tuna & dolphins. that was forty years agoe, did it make a difference? i'll have to watch star trek 6 again,, or was it #five.. there's an old warren beatty movie, 'Mc cabe & mrs miller. watching that movie , the background scenes could've been filmed @ the park w/ it's people during the winters.. the same couple guys hanging out every day the same,inside trying to keep warm & playing cards. how many days in a row can you eat potatoes? towards the end of the winters, we would try to start the cars that were snowed in, between the snow melting & mud season starting, if you wanted to be able to use a car, it had to be left towards the front. which was a long way from wherever you happen to be living. and alot longer when you had to carry anything in. and then the new road was built, with a constructered bridge over the river, coming rite in almost to the middle of the back of the land. the front parcel w/ the A-frame got tradded, for a new access off of rt.114, thru the sand dune. and there you were. brother john's hill was now 3 minutes away. ---to be continued--
in the begining, i would goe just before the customs station,and make a left turn. a minute later would be the 'A' frame building ,with a few people hanging out, then goe thru the farmers field, past the mountain of cow manure, and across the farmers field. then it was as if you landed in OZ. school bus's & step vans, with flue pipes stickin out. passing groups of people, most of them asking for cigarettes, just follow the dirt roads, slippery slug hill,, ho chin minn trail, little log bridges crossing over a culvert. the old logging roads forked a couple times, & some circled back together. passing cabins that looked like hobbitts built them, depending which way you went, out back one way was the bakery. towards the the beaver ponds were the geodesic dome and pine tree barn. in between were houses ,cabins, A-frames, tents, T-pee's,huts,lean-too's and left over cars, stuttering jay spent a couple years in his v.w van .the james gang had the octagon log cabin, pretty big too. rick & marsha's had a nice place, tom & linda's had enuf space. i think kirk made his a flat roof, but it held a few years. one nite during a winter, we all gathered there , some kinda meeting, whatever,,, but we all sent a signed letter to the emperor of japan, begging him to control his country's ocean fishing, to save the tuna & dolphins. that was forty years agoe, did it make a difference? i'll have to watch star trek 6 again,, or was it #five.. there's an old warren beatty movie, 'Mc cabe & mrs miller. watching that movie , the background scenes could've been filmed @ the park w/ it's people during the winters.. the same couple guys hanging out every day the same,inside trying to keep warm & playing cards. how many days in a row can you eat potatoes? towards the end of the winters, we would try to start the cars that were snowed in, between the snow melting & mud season starting, if you wanted to be able to use a car, it had to be left towards the front. which was a long way from wherever you happen to be living. and alot longer when you had to carry anything in. and then the new road was built, with a constructered bridge over the river, coming rite in almost to the middle of the back of the land. the front parcel w/ the A-frame got tradded, for a new access off of rt.114, thru the sand dune. and there you were. brother john's hill was now 3 minutes away. ---to be continued--
when i first met brother john,, he was sleeping next to a big rock, at the bottom of a hill, rite next to the river. then he went to the top of a cliff, dug out a big hole, and built a wooden pyramid above it. facing east,high up above everything in front of him ,giving you quite a view. the land had a lotta trees, depending on the season, everything was either green or white. middle of nite in the frozen land, the moon mite be in the sky, or it's snowing, & you can hear the trees snaping - inside moisture freezes-, but i'd be outside in only longjohns, taking a leak, & trying to get the dog / cats back inside. after some time the cold would catch up with you, but the first 5 or 10 minutes didn't seem so bad. unless the wind was blowing. being halfway between the equator & the north pole can really give you some weather. being able to watch the northen lites was also nice. the coatico river was nice to wash up. during the summer, going up river a little bit was a clay hill. to be naked and covered with mud. it seems like yesterday.. and i can still remember the bug bites. think i mite still have some left over. -- jim fury, beverly, morgan, and some other STP'ers, shared some gymsom weed juice. the dope commissioner would come back from boston and leave a 1/2 pound of jamaican. the home grown was crap. but it was all we had. before the bicentenial,vermont was having it's town meetings. when norton had it, we all tried to show, 36 longhairs, &the local 50,most of whom spoke french first.. after the regular business was taken care of, they opened for anything new. i waited my turn a few people,and then put forth the proposition of legalizing /decrimanalizing the mariwana. after they recovered from the shock,, and another minute or so of shouts & yelling across the room, they agreed to allow a vote. politics is full of tricks. so much for equal justice. --- there must've been a dozen people from ohio. my favorite was bill..,, trailer bill. some of the others mite of been; connie, ace, wagner, & larry. - my buddy john met kenny in 'lee's bar' in island park, between oceanside & long beach. the 3 of us drove together to watkins glen concert . there was a good time for one and all--- and what a pile of leftovers, half the new house's must've been lined with sections of styrofoam from the broken coolers. when we had a legal truck, the ethan allen wood yard would let us have as many slabs ,& other reject timber that could we want. -- to be continued ---
the freight train would pass by once/twice a day, depending which way it was going.i believe norton was the very first train for international crossing, for america. from boston to montreal. to be up on the farmers field and watch it pull thru, it almost seemed like there was no end. 3 or four big locomotives would be pulling, a mile or so of freight cars, maybe another loco or two in the back, & then the carboose. it had to stop a while for customs. the train would disconnect in the middle, and then back up along side itself, that way they could inspect both halves at the same time. when they finished their coffee, the train would reconnect again, and continue along.. if it was going sud towards isle puddle,it would stop again for the crew to change,tickle their wives or whatever. a few hours later another train would be going back north. it was a nice ride to town and back. i got to know some of the train men,, so if i caught them privately,, they would allow us to sit in the middle locomotive.. just make sure nothing gets touched!!! it was a nice way to get to town and back without the state police pulling me over. one day a moose was on the tracks as the train was pulling into norton. bullwinkle kept getting in the way, and held up the train a couple hours. the moose kept charging the locomotives. and state law protects moose's. finally the big bull got bored ramming & walked away north, crossing over the border. the next day, on the canadian side ,, there was a sign in the french butcher shop window, - FRESH moose meat -- 30 cents a lb. -- when the train went north, it was nonstop all the way to montreal. another nice ride,but alot longer than going to island pond. the scenic tour was great. going thru land that no one else gets to see, but, once you'd be in montreal, the trains went every where, so getting back home was another trip. hitching a ride was a lifestyle back then. but depending where you were, passing traffic could take forever. to be at the edge of a town, stickin out your thumb, and the same ten cars would keep passing you by. the local kids would drive around where they lived, never going more than a mile way. -- a problem with the 'good old days' is not realizing it when it's happening. -- i don't miss being stuck out in the rain, or blizzards, with no where to sleep, or get warm, but remembering it now does make me smile. -- rt 91 was still being built back then, from brattleboro to newport, 200 miles apart, with the road being built in 20 mile sections at a time, and then detour along side on rt5, a local road. as you got further north, there was a lot less people, and cars. the closer i'd get towards the land, the longer it would take. ----- to be continued ---
-- for the past couple of weeks that i've been on the web, i've seen some other postings about the 'park',, mostly a few years old. pan- i remember you. and when you talk about the guy always walking around naked, with the perfect tan, that was buddah. the girl diane, whose is looking for her mother beverly. if she wasn't too tall, and had 'bette davis' eyes,, then i remember her also..there must've been a dozen kids growing up there back then. d.j. was the oldest from the james gang, i don't remember how many little brothers & sisters he had. tom & linda had keith and pooh. wally & marie had some cute little girls; misty, sundove,& i think lilac. texas jim had a baby girl. kirk had a few kids. robin and sandy had a little girl. poor d.j had a hell of a trek during winter to make it to school. the pets were another group of rip-off artists, if your cabin had a door that would open in, your food would be missing when you got back home, one winter i shared the dome with bruce, his girl ann had left him for out west. a few times i can remember as i would be getting closer to the cabin, all of a sudden, a herd of dogs would come charging out, along with a few goats and cats, and as i would enter inside, it was totally trashed. the peanut butter jars would be opened & empty on the floor. any bread would be destroyed. everything edible would've been eaten. or worse ,the food would still be there, half chewed & laying on the floor. the dogs were a collection of all sizes and breeds. but when it came to eating, they were one machine. --- summertime was like one big bar-b-que & picnic. you could be walking along, or standing somewhere on the road, some one else would come along, so now a couple of you are standing there , just bull$hitting , then a couple more pass by.. some one sits down to roll a joint. maybe start a little camp fire ,just for the hell of it, then a group drives by, coming to the park for the first time, within minutes they'd have given away all their cigarettes, and a quick ride to the norton store for some wine, and the party would begin. the norton store back then was an esso gas station, with a few aisles of stuff that no one ever bought. but when the guy that owned it was working behind the counter, it was easy for a girl to walk in , put a bottle of wine on the counter, raise her skirt up high, & then walk out with the wine. if his wife ,or one of the other french women were working, then you had to pay. island pond was about 20 miles south, and newport 50 miles west. as long as we were in a vehicle that the troopers didn't recognize ,, going back and forth was o.k. ,, except for the gas money.. thanks to the arabs, it had gone from 19 to 55 cents a gallon. anyway, sometimes we would goe to town, and it would be a few days before making it back, but along the way. someone would know somewhere that it was safe to stop in at. --- be back later--
Thanks for these great stories, Paul! And if you can, please break your writing into smaller paragraphs. Makes it easier to read at this end. Thanks! And if you can't, I'll keep reading them anyway...
Thanks for these great stories, Paul! And if you can, please break your writing into smaller paragraphs. Makes it easier to read at this end. Thanks! And if you can't, I'll keep reading them anyway...
hi ya sq. i have been putting spaces between the thoughts, but the website must automaticly be squeezing them together,, i know you've answered me twice, but i've been unable to re-access ,, i was gonna ask you about ; billy ,, laura & lynn. but tonite i got in touch with lynn, so in the next few days i'll see what happens, until i started writing all this down, i was starting to think i made it all up in a dream. anyway, thanks for letting me know i'm not the only one checking it out... if i remember rite, troy is pretty close to newport,, maybe by derby, i'm heading towards the woodstock reunion in a couple days,, should be there a couple weeks, then i was planning on seeing newport,,, even though i just found out lynn went to maine 2 years agoe... maybe we can split some ribs by the lake...nice hearing from you .. keep in touch..
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epp
