Dairy farmer Max Yasgur died on this day in 1973, less than four years after hosting the Woodstock Festival of August 15-18, 1969 on his land in Bethel, New York. Yasgur was the largest milk producer in Sullivan County in the 1960s, with 650 cows. Although he was a Republican and supported the Vietnam War, he was angered by the opposition of his neighbors to the hippie festival. “If I know my American history,” he told his town board, “tens of thousands of Americans in uniform gave their lives in war after war just so those kids would have the freedom to do exactly what they are doing.” He was also appalled at the opportunism that led vendors to sell water and other basics at the overwhelmed event, and responded by distributing free water in milk bottles and giving away milk products.
You’ve proven to the world I . . . that a half a million kids — and I call you kids because I have children that are older than you are — a half million young people can get together and have three days of fun and music and have nothing but fun and music, and I ‘God bless you’ for it!”—Max Yasgur, speaking to the Woodstock Festival.
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Max Said Yes! The Woodstock Story is a great children’s picture book that gives expression to the generosity and kindness of Max Yasgur, the plain spoken dairy farmer who welcomed hundreds of thousands of flower children on to his farm in August 1969 for 3 days of peace and music. Pass the message of love, peace and music on to a new generation, read Max Said Yes! The Woodstock Story to a child!
Sounds like Mr Yasgur is a good man. An honest man. I enjoyed reading this. I want to know more about his farm now and if they are still producing milk. I do not know. The milkmen will want to know about him now.
Read David Gumpert’s book, “The Raw Milk Revolution – Behind America’s emerging Battle Over Food Rights.” Gumpert is another good man. If you like Yasgur and Woodstock, we think you will like David’s new book. Great book with so much research, the real thing. The Raw Deal.
Thank you. God Bless. The Milkmen are back!
Your Milkmen USA
A pro-Consitutional rights and anti-heartless capitalism (the free water) Republican! That’s the kind of Republican we could use today.
And if my kids were still young enough, I would definitely get them “Max Said Yes”. It sounds like a wonderful book. (I’ll hold the idea in abeyance in case any grandchildren come along, but that’s not going to be for a while.)
Is “Max Said Yes!” still available? If so, where? My grandchildren are young enough!
My mother, a fervent Forwards reader and anti anything progressive had a bungalow in Bethel a short distance from Yasgur’s farm. When my son and some of his cousins stopped there on the way to the festival, she made sandwiches for them and provided food for their friends. She spent the rest of the summer boasting about how her grandchildren had been at Woodstock..