Max Yasgur

Max at his fArm (msn images)

Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and The Who are some of the biggest names in the 1960s. In fact there was one place to be if you enjoyed music of the 60’s and you wanted peace and love - that was Woodstock. In 1969, this event was held on Max Yasgur's farm. Max is a hero that not many people know about. As with any music festival there is a story behind this one. Woodstock was relocated over six times before organizers found a spot to have their show. Max knew that there would be a large number of people coming as the expected number was 40,000. However, he was extremely surprised when over half a million people showed up for three days of peace and music. Max is a hero because he let Woodstock happen on his farm. He was a big advocate for not using drugs but he knew that drug use and sex were part of the culture of that day. He took a lot of criticism from his neighbors and his county for even letting Woodstock happen. He also let the show continue after thousands of people showed up creating problems with food supply, shortage of bathrooms and traffic jams.

Max is my hero because he let the youth of the 1960s express themselves and encouraged them to be who they were. During the 60s the generation of the hippies was starting and thousands of youth were interested in the ideas of the Era. Woodstock created a wonderful place for these youth to express themselves and be creative. Woodstock was all about peace, love and music. Max supported the people and their rights to express themselves. For three days many people were free to live how they wanted without being judged for it. Without Max there would never been a Woodstock which means the hippie era probably wouldn’t have been an important time period.

Max showing peace to the crowd (msn images)

Another reason Max deserves great respect is, Woodstock had over half a million people attending and a lot of things could have gone wrong. However, Max had faith in the youth to trust them on his land. He believed that the youth wouldn’t let things get out of control and for the most part that didn’t happen. Without Max’s trust this event would not have happened.

Max also helped the artists of the time become more popular as they sang and performed their music. Woodstock wasn’t only a concert but an art show as well. In fact, some artists got their start at Woodstock, while others became famous. Max helped people get known, and helped create friendships among the concert goers. Singers/ performers got to know their fans on a whole new level.

Max is a great man to me. He fought all the odds, let Woodstock happen and is known as a father image of Woodstock. Without this man, people would have never had a place where for the first time youth of the day could go enjoy music and peace and not worry about war or problems of the world. Without Max none of this would be possible and we all owe a great thanks to him. He helped start a crusade for peace, and helped the artist of the day become popular. They were just the start of something important.