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March 16, 2010

The magic of Woodstock predates the festival

At the turn of the century, an Englishman and his American wife, Ralph and Jane Whitehead, sent their friend Bolton Brown to search for an idyllic spot in which to establish an art colony. Nestled in a valley in the Catskills was the hamlet of Woodstock, which Brown found in 1902.

Whitehead bought farmland at the base of Mead Mountain and built chalet-type structures, 35 of which are still in operation today, on 300 acres. This arts and crafts community was a response to industrialization and was to be self-sufficient with all things handmade.

Artists came and painted, wrote, wove, sculpted, worked wood, made pottery, etc., but their creations proved too expensive to reach the goal. Hervey White, another of the founders, lost patience with the direction of the colony and bought property at the other end of town on Maverick Road. He invited anyone who chose to construct a rustic studio in the Maverick Colony. Classical musicians performed on Sundays in an open-air concert hall.

From nearby New York City came artists, writers, musicians, philosophers and others. The Art Students League built a summer facility. In the 1930s, I discovered and fell in love with Woodstock, just a short drive from my family's camp. It is the oldest surviving art colony in the nation.

The Whiteheads lost their lives on the Titanic.

It has been said that the area is one of the creative energy centers. For decades, free spirits made it their summer digs. The only industry that thrived was Rotron, a firm that manufactured muffin fans that cooled motors.

IBM built a facility in the area, and many IBMers moved in to take advantage of the cultural surroundings. Artists, farmers and yuppies — a strange blend.

In the 1960s, after my divorce, I took my two toddlers from Brooklyn to the Woodstock area. I published a weekly newspaper, The Woodstock Week, and ran a small advertising agency.

Mid-century, Bob Dylan found the colony and purchased a home on Ohayo Mountain. Other musicians followed, and sound studios cropped up all over town.

In New York, four yuppies looked for a project. They formed a corporation called Woodstock Ventures. In August of 1969, they ran the Woodstock Festival, and the little hamlet became a household word as 500,000 youngsters attended.

With the influx of musicians and hippies, the drug scene increased. By then, my kids were teenagers, and I worried about the effect upon them. And so I moved north, in search of wholesomeness.

Things have changed in Woodstock. It's no longer a blend of farmers and working artists.

It's grown too hip for me.

Lorraine Lilja is a retired Press-Republican reporter. A collection of her columns, "Lilja's World," is for sale at local bookstores. Lilja can be reached at llilja17@hotmail.com

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