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BETHEL -- Woodstock, the 1969 paradigm of peace, love and music, is nowWoodstock, the 1997 land-development deal and bitter legal battle.
Some 28 years ago today, the legendary rock fest and its 400,000 followersturned this quiet village on its ear. But this year, some of those sameWoodstock faithful are locked in a battle over how to preserve the legacy of a legendary weekend.
The townfolk here are jumpy, the police are watching closely and the woods around Max Yasgur's famous cow field are alive and crawling with hundreds of psychedelic nomads just dying for one more rock concert.
Yet everyone would agree it's not the ideal situation to celebrate the 28th anniversary of Woodstock, a festival that helped define a generation.
``We are desperately seeking intervention from the court,'' said AbigailStorm, a founder of the Woodstock Nation Foundation, which wants to preserveas-is the quiet, sloping 38-acre pasture that hosted the Woodstock concert in1969.
The group contends the pasture's new owner, multimillionaire cabletelevision mogul Allen Gerry, bought the land in violation of a 1991restraining order forbidding its sale. Gerry's company, Granite Associates,which paid $1 million for the sacred acreage in April, announced plans todevelop it into a park, museum and amphitheater loyal to the Woodstock memoryand worth about $10 million, according to an entertainment industry source.
Since then, Gerry has forbidden Woodstock pilgrims from camping overnighton the site, and a small security team keeps almost constant vigil from atrailer nearby. Police arrested Storm and five other Woodstock Nation memberswho tried to defy the no-camping order three weeks ago.
``Our motivation is to protect in perpetuity the Woodstock site,'' saidGerry's spokesman, Gary Lewi. ``We would welcome anyone who wants to show upat the site,'' he said, as long as they don't light campfires and stayovernight, as has become tradition since pilgrims first began emigrating herefor the 20th anniversary in 1989.''
A state Supreme Court justice Thursday rejected Storm's request for arestraining order on the sale of the land.
For some longtime residents in Bethel, the famous Woodstock concert is anonerous memory of naked hitch-hikers, mud-caked hippies and civil disorder.But with Gerry's announcement, many see the bucolic field as a potential cashmachine. ``The town's pretty much divided,'' said Gail Gorton, who works atthe tiny post office, which shares space with the local general store. She and many others favor Gerry's development plan as a way to improve the region's defeated economy.
``We do need something, and not just people camping,'' said Gorton, 44,whose police-officer father wouldn't let her attend the original Woodstockconcert in 1969. In any case, Bethel town leaders intend to keep the peacethis weekend.
The town recently won a state Supreme Court order to force local residentRoy Howard to ditch plans to organize a massive 60-band concert on his103-acre farm one mile from the Woodstock site. Howard did not apply for thenecessary permit, said town Supervisor Allan Scott.
Last year, he held a large Woodstock memorial concert without any seriousincidents. On Wednesday, after nearly a year of planning another concert,Howard, 63, posted ``No Trespassing'' signs on his property and swore off anypartying this weekend.
But he issued a warning. ``There's people coming from all over thecountry,'' he said. ``I just got off the phone with a group from Maui.'' South African bands are also said to be on the way.
In the woods around Bethel, people are already hiding and waiting,promising to produce a concert this weekend, court order or not. ``There'sgonna be a concert. They should just let it happen,'' said a heavily bearded,47-year-old man known as Groovy, standing next to his red van hidden in thewoods. He was with about 100 other men and women.
``We are going to rock and roll,'' promised a man named Ben Magic, 41, whoemerged from a patch of trees carrying a tall engraved walking stick. ``Things might come to a head'' this weekend, added Howard, who grew up and started businesses in nearby Monticello.
Though some people express dismay that the Woodstock magic has given way to litigation, both sides refuse to give in quietly. ``God assigned us to keep this door open,'' Storm, a born-again Christian, explained. ``People went there for sex, drugs and rock and roll, possibly, but they got something else when they got there.''
``We are protecting their right to love one another,'' she said, beginningto weep softly.
Copyright 1997, Times Union, Albany, N.Y.