'Neighbors': Program for Camp Woodward, Phoenicia, NY 1955

Verlag: Camp Woodland, New York, 1955

Beschreibung

pp12, stapled booklet, with contributions from campers and others, content student/camper created. Thanks are offered 'to Harry Siemsen, the farmer-folklorist and historian, George Van Kleeck, Ernie Sager and John Coss, weekly music makers.' Noted folk-performer Aaron Van DeBogart is discussed as a ranger. No copies noted in OCLC at this time, extensive Woodland material held within Norman Studer papers at University at Albany, M.E. Grenander Dept. of Special Collections. Camp Woodland, 1939-1962, was located in Woodland Valley outside of Phoenicia, New York about 20 miles from Woodstock. Camp Woodland evolved out of the New Deal programs that provided work for artists and was shaped by the progressive movement in education. A folk music incubator, Camp Woodland "honored the past, understood the importance of old traditions and cultures and the need to preserve and learn from them." From the beginning, the camp set out to collect the folk songs, lore, and history of the Catskill Mountains. Paul Mishler, Associate Professor of Labor Studies, Indianna University South Bend, presented a recent lecture connecting Camp Woodland to Woodstock 1969, entitled "From Camp Woodland to the Woodstock Music Festival and Beyond: Counter Cultures in the Struggle for Social Justice in the United States.Founded near Phoenicia, NY, by Norman Studer, a former Ph.D. student of John Dewey s and an educator at the Elizabeth Irwin School in New York City, Studer sought to bring America s democratic roots alive to his students. His vision embraced cultural diversity and a multidisciplinary approach. He brought city kids up to the country and put them in touch with old-time Catskill Mountain folks like Aaron Van De Bogart from Woodstock. Not only did Woodland Campers hear stories from the hill people, but they were put to work collecting and preserving hundreds of folk songs for posterity. The camp was an annual destination for Pete and Toshi Seeger and they proved to be an incalculable influence. Pete performed for each division of campers, for the camp as a whole, and when the campers had gone to bed for the counselors. In 1954, a 15-year-old camper named John Herald saw Seeger sing and decided to become a musician. The camp s multi-cultural population was a fertile incubating ground for Seeger. One counselor, Hector Angulo, introduced him to a Cuban song, "Guantanamera," which became hit for Pete in 1961. Another time Pete wrote three verses based on a Russian folk tune and left it with counselor Joe Hickerson. Joe worked with a group of campers on the rhythm and personally wrote three more verses. This song, "Where Have All the Flowers Gone," charted on Billboard for The Kingston Trio as a "B" side in 1961.Perhaps the most important element of the Camp Woodland program was the annual end-of-summer folk festival. It was at these fêtes that hill people like George Edwards and George Van Kleeck came to perform. Equally important, the campers called and performed their own dances. This gave them the chance to learn and carry on the folk tradition of mixing work, community and music. When the camp closed in 1962, the area s folk action migrated to Woodstock. That year the Café Espresso came under the ownership of the Paturels. The next year Bob Dylan moved to town and did some great song writing in a studio above the Café. In 1967 the Sound-Out folk rock concert series was launched at Pan Copeland s farm. This series inspired Michael Lang to stage his Woodstock mega-concert in 1969. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 784

Bibliografische Details

Titel: 'Neighbors': Program for Camp Woodward, ...

Verlag: Camp Woodland, New York

Erscheinungsdatum: 1955

Einband: Pamphlet

Auflage: First Edition.