Vermont Documents '70s Shift From Conservative to Hippie
Aside from peace signs and food cooperatives, the 1970s influx of longhaired youth to Vermont brought experimental communes to the hillsides and social activism, as well as drug use and fears of a hippie invasion.
Now the Vermont Historical Society is collecting stories and artifacts in a two-year study to document the lasting influence the decade has had on the state. It's holding forums around the state for people to tell their stories, good and bad, about that era in Vermont.
"The hippie generation is not just drugs, sex and rock 'n' roll, as we all can attest to," Ann Taylor, 63, said at a forum last week in Burlington. "What I truly love is that we were involved politically, back to earth. We care about nature. We understand the wellness concept and what that is."
Vermont's population, which had been relatively stagnant, jumped 14 percent in the 1960s and 15 percent in the 1970s, with more than half the increase in the latter decade from people moving in from out of state. At the time, the average age in the U.S. was 27.
The working theory is that the events of the decade and people who came here helped changed Vermont from a largely conservative state to one of the most liberal, leaving a legacy of organic farming, interest in locally raised food and a rediscovery of older ways of living and growing food, to name a few.
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http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/vermont-document-1970s-counterculture-30272668
