Memories from the Crowd.

Throughout 2014, we asked our fans to share their memories, photos and stories from the timeless gathering back in ’69. Among the the many gems we received, here are some of our favorites: “Considering that we actually were ‘half a million strong’, it was quite a statement of my generation’s frame of mind (with or without drugs) that so very few incidents occurred during those wonderful 3 days. So happy I got to be there…changed my life forever. Still a hippie at 63!”– Lenore Madden “My friend Bob and I drove through mobs of traffic on Friday to park within a few miles of the festival grounds. We trekked in by foot. By the time we made it, the fences were down, our tickets were unnecessary, and the music was on. But what stopped us in our tracks was the massive size of the crowd, with all its energy and makeshift madness. Through thirst, hunger, rain and song, we bonded as one huge organism. Three days later, after Jimi brought those of us who stayed to a rousing finale, we drove home to lives that would never be the same again.” – John Bowman “My ride was a vintage VW Bug. The one shown in this picture, and the little umbrella tent, just to the right of it, in front of the red VW Micro Bus, was our home away from home… ” – Will Smith “My family had a summer home in Kauneonga Lake, White Lake Homes. We heard there was a concert to be held up the road from us. We were told 50,000 would show up. 500,000 actually did. Although we didn’t have tickets we were able to easily attend. Roads were jammed. The town ran out of food. Having a home there, we were in luck. We had food, and could bathe. The rain turned everything into a muddy mess but what an event. Glad to have attended.” – Elliot Brender “Glad I stayed to say the least” – John Chappina “I was their with my dear belated brother Robert Howard and I was 17 at that time and he was 21 in his then brand new VW Bug . What great memories…” – Joseph Howard “I remember the calm voice of the announcer…he was our only source of news, information, lost children, bad drugs, towers in danger of falling because of high winds. He was so calm and steady–I was only 16 and was never afraid.”– Lorraine Gerbino Sylvain...