Editordude: We received the following letter from Holly of Santa Cruz who wished to share some of her memories from the “Summer of Love” in Ocean Beach – the 50th anniversary of which the OB Rag celebrated enthusiastically – so, we now print it below without editing. On the outside of the envelope, she wrote: “A tiny fragment in the mosaic of time.”
By Holly
I was twenty years old in 1967 and a not so subtle change was taking place in Ocean Beach.
The “surfing USA” vibe was being altered, different ideas, sounds, and “things”.
There was an underground of people … a character named Thane (who I later saw on the sidewalk on Haight Street laboring under the delusion that he was he messiah). Another named Archie Weaver, everyone called him “Jesus” because of his long hair. Mike Love, very wild.
A morning stands out in my mind, sharp as yesterday.
I smoked some herb and walked down to this new place called The Black. The interior was painted black of course, even the ceiling!!
Everyone smoked indoors then, and someone put on a brand new record by an LA group called “The Doors”. The song was “Light My Fire”. They had a thing called a strobe light. The music, the light, the smoke! Simply enthralling!!
Holly, Santa Cruz
{ 0 comments… add one now }