Twenty-nine years ago, Mike Sofia's folks put him on a bus to Long Island for the weekend. Looking out their Rock Hill window at a sea of cars creeping along Route 17, the Sofias weren't about to let their 14-year-old see any more hippies than necessary.

Now 43 and with two young kids of his own, Sofia lives two doors down from the main entrance to Alan Gerry's Garden. For the first time since building the Hurd Road house in 1989, Sofia actually looked forward to the arrival of tens of thousands of rockin' neighbors.

The reason was simple, Sofia said: If Gerry and his deep pockets couldn't pull this off, nobody could.

Gerry's staff met with neighbors at least a half-dozen times before this weekend's show and made sure everyone had free tickets. Signs were erected on any property that wasn't Gerry's, saying "Please respect our neighbors' privacy and property."

Seems like that's happening. Aside from a beer bottle or two alongside the road, there was no litter, hardly even a cigarette butt anywhere. Even cleaner were the wood-chipped roadside paths that carried thousands from parking to party. Trash cans were everywhere – and emptied regularly.

Sofia had no complaints as of noon yesterday. "I was pretty amazed at how controlled everything was last night," he said. "They got 'em in and got 'em out quick. Everything went smoothly." There were no surprise campers, no midnight guests on the lawn. The neighborhood was essentially empty by 10:30 p.m. Friday.

A business teacher at Pine Bush High School, Sofia is using the weekend to gather economics and marketing lessons for his students. Sofia, his wife, Carmen, and kids Michael, 7, and Brianna, 6, are selling Coke, bagels, popcorn and nonalcoholic daiquiris from a front yard stand.

"We figured if we were going to have the inconvenience of having multitudes of people walking by our house, we might as well capitalize on it," Sofia said.

Two doors down toward 17B, Earl and Sharon Lilley weren't much worried, either. They went square-dancing yesterday at the Little World's Fair in Grahamsville, leaving son Lynn Lilley, born five months after Woodstock, in charge at the home they built in 1969.

"My parents are very impressed with how neat and professional it is," Lilley said. "Everyone has been very respectful of our property."

The neighborhood has largely welcomed The Garden concerts, Sofia said.

"Everyone wants the county to benefit. Everyone wants the town to benefit," he said. "They're glad someone's taking it by the horns and controlling it."

The Times Herald-Record Print Edition
Copyright August, 1998,
Orange County Publications, a division of Ottaway Newspapers
all rights reserved.