(My dad was a Cat skinnin' land leveller. At age 5, (with help), I drove my first D-9 'dozer with a 'scraper on, cut 5 tenths (of a foot) where 3 tenths was staked, didn't do that again. RIP Clarence.)

Jack, I'm apprised at you not mentioning New Joisey's own Atlantic City Pop Festival, Sat. & Sun. must have been Aug. 9 & 10, 1969, one (or two?) week(s) before Woodstock. At the horse race track (___ fill in the blank -- the Downs?). Over 50,000 attendance, helicopters overhead and police-promoted newspaper-noticed 'panic,' no crimes or casualties, some wonderful pure 'orange barrels' going around. Saw Janice Joplin, Chambers Brothers, and about ten other acts I'll never recall over two days I'll never forget.

Closing waaaay after hours Sunday in a 10,000-person, hands-on-hips-ahead-of-you, 'bunny-hopping' conga-line, snaking (unregulated) across the track and wantonly around the infield. We didn't get back to Beach Haven (Little Egg Harbor Y.C.) until 3 a.m. As was said, 'far out.'

When we read this in Sunday's paper we were struck by the difference in times, Bullfrog Park was the dream of what we used to call "characters" that made up the uniquness of Oregon, and his "vision" of the valley was a place to share with everyone from hippies for a concert to families looking for a picnic place. Now this common man's dream is taken over by the "Street of Dreams", a park developed for everyman is replaced with million dollar homes only a few elite can dream about.

I'm surprised no mention of shooting ranges at Bull frog park. Many an hour I shot my weapons there. Once I shot a friends sub-machine gun..in a couple of seconds all the 50 bullets were spent. A sheriff car came up and were concerned over the machine gun, my friend showed his registration and all was joy. They ponied up the price of ammo and had a blast themselves. The cows meandering about never paid any attention to all the noise. Only bad part was the black powder boys and all that smoke.

I don't remember the Bullfrog festival, but I do remember Vortex out at McIver. It was a big deal. I was fifteen and not allowed by my parents to go to it, but the neighbor across the street and his buddy rode their motorcycles out there. They wanted to get a look at some real life "hippies".