University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Doctoral Dissertations Student Scholarship Spring 2003 "Everybody get together": The sixties counterculture and public space, 1964--1967 Jill Katherine Silos University of New Hampshire, Durham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation Recommended Citation Silos, Jill Katherine, ""Everybody get together": The sixties counterculture and public space, 1964--1967" (2003). Doctoral Dissertations. 170. https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/170 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. ProQuest Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. “EVERYBODY GET TOGETHER”: THE SIXTIES COUNTERCULTURE AND PUBLIC SPACE, 1964-1967 By Jill Katherine Silos B. S., The University of Connecticut, 1990 M. A., The University of Colorado, 1994 Dissertation Submitted to the University of New Hampshire in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History May, 2003 May, 2003 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number. 3083741 UMI UMI Microform 3083741 Copyright 2003 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This dissertation has been examined and approved. Dissertation Director, Harvard Sitkoff, Professor of History J-William Harris, Professor of History _____________________ nv-Ellen Fitzpatrick, Professor of History cJ— —y Lucy Salyei^ssociate Profd^r of!History Robert Mennel, Professor of History Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation has been possible only through the assistance and support of many institutions and individuals. I would like to thank the University of New Hampshire’s History Department for awarding me a Gunst-Wilcox Fund research grant, and for providing the opportunity to teach for so many years. The University of New Hampshire Graduate School and Dean Harry Richards were particularly generous, providing two travel grants for research in San Francisco and Madison, Wisconsin, and a 1999-2000 Dissertation Fellowship. Julie Simpson and Professor Cioffi of the Office of Sponsored Research helpfully explained the University’s research requirements and regulations regarding the use of human subjects. I am also grateful to Phi Alpha Theta, the International History Honor Society, for awarding to me the 1999 Dr. John S. Pine dissertation fellowship, and to the American Historical Association, which honored my work with a Littleton-Griswold Research Grant I would also like to thank the faculty of the History Department of the University of New Hampshire, who deserve my thanks for much more than financial support Professors Harvard I. Sitkoff, J. William Harris, Lucy Salyer, Robert Mennel and Ellen Fitzpatrick of the UNH History Department provided valuable criticisms of and suggestions for this dissertation, while Jan Golinski and Jeffry Diefendorf were always interested in and supportive of my progress. I was fortunate to be in a History program that allowed me to research and explore a topic that many did not feel merited much further analysis. My research was made much easier by the staff of the Wisconsin State Historical Society, Madison, the North Baker Research Library of the California Historical Society, iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. the San Francisco History Center at the San Francisco Public Library, and the University of California, Berkeley archives, all of whom were unfailingly helpful and knowledgeable. In particular, Pat Keats and Brenda Baldwin at the California Historical Society provided detailed assistance and suggestions. Susan Goldstein, City of San Francisco Archivist, and Margaret Mac Arthur and Daria Schwarzchild of the San Francisco Parks Commission, were enthusiastic and knowledgeable guides to the city’s resources. Finally, Mike Griffith of the San Francisco District court confirmed my dread suspicion that the arrest records and legal documents surrounding the arrests of the Diggers had been destroyed long ago. Eric Noble deserves special mention for maintainingthe Digger spirit in his creation and maintenance of the Digger website, which provides free access to digital copies of all extant primary Digger documents. Those who allowed me to interview them about their memories, interpretations and opinions on this topic provided a direct link to the events of this era and, in opening their memories to me, enabled a greater understanding. Access to many participants in the events in San Francisco in the 1960s was made possible by Peter Coyote, of the San Francisco Mime Troupe and the Diggers, himself an enthusiastic supporter of this project, Dennis McNally of Grateful Dead Productions, and Mickey Hart’s assistant Debra Kline. Peter Albin of Big Brother and the Holding Company; Mime Troupe founder Ronnie Davis; Peter Berg of the Mime Troupe and the Diggers; Jack Cassady of Jefferson Airplane; David Freiberg of Quicksilver Messenger Service; Judy Goldhaft of the Mime Troupe and the Diggers; Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead; Family Dog commune founder Chet Helms; poet and Digger Lenore Kandel; Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson tv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Airplane; Elsa Marley; and John Sinclair of the White Panther Party were all very generous with their time. My work has also benefited from the support and generosity of friends and family. Shari Gardner and Jon Kaplan provided free lodging, good humor, and the comforts of a cuddly dog in San Francisco, making my research trips seem a little less challenging than they would otherwise have been. Elizabeth Cornell, Beth McDermott Kaputa, Susan Hoben Keim, Sydney Caddel Lisle, and Edith Posselt provided unfailing, constant encouragement Ken Manthome supplied a remote filing cabinet for my drafts after the hard drive of my computer crashed. Sara Scott was always there with an open mind and a superb talent for listening, while Carol Grosky transcribed interviews and constantly reminded me that anything worthwhile is worth laughing about This work was also always guided by the memory of a beloved friend, S. Giles Payne. Eccentric and dedicated to individual freedom, Giles provided my first glimpse into a “counterculture” world and was for me a vibrant role model of those who follow their own paths, speak their minds, and express themselves regardless of consequence. His death in the fall of 1999, when I first began to work on this dissertation, was a profound reminder of how very much the life of one person can influence so many and that the larger history of humanity is but a collection of the stories of individuals. But none of this work—indeed nothing I have ever undertaken—could have been possible without the love and support of my family, which always displayed unfailing faith in my ability and always supported my goals. My parents moved furniture, stored books, provided emotional and financial support and, in short, did all the things that parents do. In particular, though, I’d like to thank “the old girls”: my mother Eileen v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Silos, my aunt Nancy Hauser and my grandmother Sarah Hauser. Generous, opinionated and lively, they make all my days an adventure. This work is dedicated to them, with love and gratitude. vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. PREFACE Public discourse is the lifeblood of die democratic body