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by Todd Gerrish on Aug 8, 2022 7:54:15 PM
Our family reunion brought us to Bethel NY this summer as it was the only place we could find a house on a lake that was big enough and available. Bethel, NY just happens to be the town where the original Woodstock concert took place in 1969. While a family reunion is technically a “vacation”, the proximity to the history Woodstock certainly caught the interest of both the musician and the event production professional in me – and it did not disappoint!
A Bethel Institution Named “Duke”
The original venue was just 2.4 miles from where we were staying and has an incredible museum and outdoor concert venue called The Bethel Woods Performing Arts Center. The museum was amazing. By far my favorite exhibit turned out to be a small, unassuming video kiosk tucked away in one of the rooms that told the story of a young man named Duke who came to town from Texas and arrived in Bethel with 50 cents in his pocket.
On his way to the concert he saw a man running a small hamburger and hot dog stand. He didn't have enough money to buy a hot dog so the man running the stand offered him a job for $2 per hour and all the food he could eat. He hopped over the counter to start working. He saw a collection of 8 track tapes, selected Led Zeppelin to play and cranked the volume up. The rockin' 'music immediately started catching the attention of other concert goers and business started booming. By the end of the day, the burger stand owner was so happy he paid Duke $50 which was a small fortune to him. He bought 5 bottles of whiskey and started making his way to the concert sharing his whiskey with everyone along the way.
By the time he got to the concert, the whiskey was gone. Duke had a blast at the 3 day concert and when it was over, he was trying to decide what was next when one of the locals said to him: Hey hippie, can you paint? I have 5 bungalows that need to be painted. Duke said sure as long as he could sleep in one of them. They struck a deal and Duke has been in Bethel ever since. The video in the museum ends with a shot of Duke standing outside all alone looking at the site where the concert happened and reflecting back. He said he does that often and can hear the music and visualize the scene. Just when he starts to feel like he is almost back in time at the iconic Woodstock event, 'It's gone'.
On the way out of the museum, I told the others I was with, that my favorite part of the museum was the video about the man with 50 cents in his pocket.
Hippie Drifter As Career Storyteller
After the museum visit, we decided to drive around the corner so we could see the location of the Woodstock stage. After we parked we started walking around for a bit while taking pictures when I saw an old man with a long beard that looked a lot like the 50 cent guy. I walked over and asked “Are you “50 cents” from the video in the museum? “ He said, “Do I look like him?” Then he said, “I'll talk to you there” and walked over to a picnic table, sat down and invited me to sit with him.
I had a great chat with Duke for 45 minutes. His stories were amazing, he was very authentic, and personally knew Max Yasgur and his family (the farmer who elected to host the festival on his 600 acre property after two other sites turned them down). He was hired by the museum and the Bethel Woods Center when it opened in 2006 as a site interpreter and is often assigned to share his stories with the stars that perform at the concert venue. He still lives on the property.
Not a bad life for a hippie drifter!
And A Personal Local Connection Too
The other cool thing I noted while in the museum was one of the original speaker stacks designed and built by Medford Mass native Bill Hanley. Bill built 8 of these speaker stacks and they were used for amplification at the Woodstock concert. I was aware that both he and his brother Terry started Hanley audio in the 60s and worked on the Woodstock concert as well as many other iconic concerts including the Beatles at Shea Stadium.
But seeing the plaque and exhibit that paid tribute to Bill Hanley at the museum prompted me to look at Terry Hanley Audio's web site and the history page completely blew me away. These guys are legends! Here is a link to the history page of their web site to see how they seemed to be everywhere during the heyday of the early Rock and Roll era.
I remember providing lighting for a Peter Paul and Mary show 25 or 30 years ago where Bill Hanley provided his 'Magic Stage', (one of the first mobile stages).
Terry Hanley audio is still in business today and our companies have worked together on various shows and events for decades. His company has been providing audio services in the Boston and New England area for over 5 decades. I knew he and his brother Bill had something to do with the sound at Woodstock but had no idea that these guys were the pioneers of concert sound!
A Reunion That Included A Bigger Family
Our family reunions have always been a pretty big affair, but this year’s turned out to feel like a bigger one with finding the unexpected connections with some of our own professional (indirect) connections to that weekend almost exactly 53 years ago.
Have You Seen Our Rental Equipment Page?
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