The man who said yes to Woodstock

Co-written by Yasgur,a librarian,and Joseph Lipner,her attorney-writer husband,the book has brightly coloured illustrations by Los Angeles artist Barbara Mendes that capture the magical chaos that ensued when hippie hordes descended on the Yasgur property in Bethel,New York. Max himself is pictured with his characteristic dark-rimmed glasses and pipe.

Yasgur,54,did not attend Woodstock and never met her second cousin,who died of a chronic heart condition in 1973 at age 53. Lipner,44,was just a tyke when the “Woodstock nation” came together against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and civil-rights struggles. But the Los Angeles residents gathered details from family members,including Max’s widow,Miriam,and individuals associated with the festival.

Although he’s now considered a counterculture icon,farmer Yasgur was by no means a hero to his conservative rural neighbours when he began negotiating the use of 600 acres with Michael Lang,a long-haired,leather-clad,motorcycle-riding promoter of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair. According to accounts by Yasgur’s widow,once word spread,somebody put up a sign near their home: “Don’t Buy Yasgur’s Milk. He Loves the Hippies”.

Promoters told the Yasgurs to count on about 10,000 kids a day for three days,but an estimated half-million showed up. They heard music by Jimi Hendrix,Janis Joplin,Joan Baez,Jefferson Airplane,Santana,and Crosby,Stills and Nash—with the newly added Neil Young—and others.