University of Virginia Library

Impressions Of CD Visitor

Hippies Seek Quiet Life In Hashbury

During the summer Cavalier Daily
Staff Writer Paul Larsen visited
Haight-Ashbury, home base of the
hippie movement. The following is
the third in a series of articles in
which Mr. Larsen relates his impressions
of the hippies.

By Paul Larsen

No one is really quite sure
when it began. There was a
spontaneity that arose among
the young to express their freedom
and experiment with a new
way of life. The transition from
beatnik was quick and painless,
communities began to
plant their roots. Student dissent,
disillusionment over Vietnam,
and scholastic, parental,
and military pressures were the
seeds from which the hippies
grew. The community has now
been established, the goals set,
the routine of day to day life
observed.

Different Image

There is a complete honesty
about the hippies that many
press characterizations miss. Not
only is it an honesty which
permits no stealing, but it is an
honesty with oneself. Most hippies
realize that they are presenting
a facade. "The big hangup
with most of us," one told
me, "is that anytime things get
rough, we can return home and
our parents and 'the good society'
will welcome us back with
open arms. We try to be as different
from the society we
dropped out of as possible, but
there are actually close ties.
Many of us receive money from
home as well as clothes and
food. It makes it rather hard to
believe we are really alone and
free." The hippies haven't
dropped out of society completely,
for this is impossible. All
societies borrow from each
other, and the hippies know
this.

Easy Living

The hippies live easily. They
have no alarm clocks, no buses
to catch, no deadlines to make.
They wake when they are no
longer tired and usually spend
the day in the park. When money
is needed, they will sell newspapers.
The Oracle, the Haight-Ashbury
Tribune, the Berkeley
Barb, and the Free Press are
the "underground" papers that
sell so well. The papers were
originated on a non-profit basis
for the good of the hippie. He
makes anywhere from 8 cents
to 15 cents on a sold copy.
During the summer it is not unusual
for a seller to make up to
thirty-five or forty dollars a day.
The tourists need something to
return home with as a memento
of their trip to Hippieland.

No More Bus

The week-ends are when the
Haight takes on a special kind
of excitement. Tourists, "weekend
hippies," policemen, and of
course the ever-present press fill
the streets until traffic is stopped
for miles. The hippies seemed to
take a "live and let live" attitude
towards the infringement on
their community for a long time,
but now they are beginning to
rebel. The Grey Line sightseeing
bus no longer travels through
Haight-Ashbury because the hippies
rebelled and held mirrors to
the buses' windows so the tourists
could get a good look at
themselves. But the tourists have
merely returned to their cars,
which they drive down Haight
Street with locked doors and
closed windows as if the hippies
were about to riot (an action
greatly disdained by the hippies).

Sunday is the day of life in
Haight-Ashbury. It is when the
rock-bands play in the park for
all to enjoy. Such names as the
Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful
Dead, and Big Brother and the
Holding Company mingle with
the thousands that come to hear
the free concerts. The Hell's
Angels appear and settle in with
no trouble and less attention,
except from the tourists. The
psychedelic stores flourish, selling
their posters, papers, and
pot-holders. Flowers are exchanged
among the hippies, and
all agree what a beautiful
and a beautiful life it is.

Four Outlets

The hippie exists from four
outlets. He receives money from
home, sells papers, begs and
borrows, and receives donations
from groups such as the Diggers.
The Diggers were there
with the opening of Haight-Ashbury
and many feel that without
them the community would not
have survived. They are the social
workers of the society.
They began by opening their
doors to all who needed a place
to stay, and have continued by
opening The Free Store, and The
Free Clinic (where doctors from
the San Francisco area give generously
of their time for the
good of the hippie), and have
reached renown by their Free
Food in the park each day. But
now the Diggers are slowly being
replaced by a group called
the Switchboard. The Switchboard
is mainly concerned with
the communications system in
the Haight. News travels fast,