Interviewing folks involved in the 1970 Eatonville Rock Festival (Buffalo Party Convention and Pig Roast) is turning out to be an adventure in time travel. People walk you through a world without computers, where hiking to an event was safe (and legal) and psychedelic drugs are the thing.
The Pierce County Superior Court issued an order to shut down the rock festival the day before it was to open, but that was too late. Why? Because in 1970 there was no internet, cell phones, Facebook or Twitter. People were on their way, with their rotary phones back at home.
1970 was the height of rock festival. Young people went from one to another, seeing their favorite rock stars up close. And many came prepared to camp out. When I asked one of the attendees if he noticed the lack of Sani-cans, he said, “I don’t remember. We camped and knew how to took care of things.”
Even the camping is a step back in time. No streamlined pup tends form REI. Most of the tents in the photographs look a lot like WWII surplus. Or, in some cases, sheets hooked up on poles.
This journey back in time has been enjoyable. If you have memories about that era, please feel free to share.
Diane Mettler
