Vortex 1: How a rock festival saved Portland from chaos | Oregon Experience
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- čas přidán 28. 08. 2020
- Fifty years ago, Oregon’s Republican governor did something that has never been done before or since: He authorized and encouraged young people to attend a free, drug-fueled rock concert at a state park. The decision might have ended in disaster. Instead, tens of thousands of people attended, successfully drawing anti-war protesters away from President Richard Nixon’s planned visit to Portland.
"Oregon Experience" takes a look back at Vortex 1: The only state-sponsored rock festival in U.S. history.
Content Alert: Partial Nudity.
Read more: How Oregon’s GOP governor teamed up with hippies to throw a festival and prevent clashes in the streets www.opb.org/article/2020/08/2...
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#OPB #oregonexperience #Vortex1
I was there, just before starting my sophomore year at University of Portland........ I happened to be a very young VN war vet. I wasn't really anti war, but I was very much in favor of free love and hanging with beautiful girls. I was just happy to be alive then. Tom McCall was the greatest and waaaaay ahead of his time, but I was too young to ever vote for him. Always felt bad about that. Irony......old enough to go to war, but not old enough to vote for the people who sent me there.
at least you are honest about why you were there, LOL
Yeah, honesty and $5 will get you a cup of coffee...but, no shirt it's free, if you're female of course ...
Wait, did I just say that ...
We need another Tom McCall. He was the best. Such a wonderful leader. ❤
Oregon used to have some very admirable Republicans.
@@johnlowell5905 There used to be some very admirable Republicans.
Tom McCall was a genius. He would have been a great president.
No
@@user-wy1dl2me2p why cause he wasn’t a Republican
@@user-wy1dl2me2p Why not?
Those festival goers we’re tax paying citizens of the United States of America 🇺🇸. They paid for their own festival, it was not “state” sponsored because who is the state? It’s us.
Dr. Cameron Bangs was one of my high school teachers, he was the volunteer doctor at the festival. He made historical impact upon the state in many ways, his story about creating a physical fitness program for the portland police is pretty funny. He was a wonderful teacher and a great mentor. His legacy lives on through his teachings.
He was my pediatrician. Looking back, I think my mom was an insightful, amazing woman who made that decision informed of his humanity.
as a woman's doctor he was a bit pervy and not at all careful, as a woman once told me. She never went back. and he tried to be a hippy even 20 years after vortex.
My dad worked with Tom McCall to put this together. I was a young kid but I remember their excitement.
Tom McCall was an awesome guy. We are lucky we had him. Our world is a way better place because of his insight and ability to get the jobs done. Thank You Tom McCall!
This is so Oregon!!! Having been lucky enough to have travelled with my family through Oregon, Washington and BC that summer I can see all of this. Oregon in those days was just paradice. The rest stops traveling along I5 were new and clean with stacked chipped wood stored away for those using the restop. The Northwest was just, amazing, clean and in a way inocent. People are just not even close to caliber of what existed in those days. Oregon, now is just a mess in many ways. Its just a sad model for what waits for all of us.
The people of the Northwest in the 1960s and 1970s where still inocent in many ways.
Was. It's now becoming a Maoist hellhole.
Somehow things were subverted. I blame the leftists.
oregon's had bad leadership, it's a result of voting a Democrat party line for 30 years instead of anything that's constructive. 50,000+ people move to Oregon from california every year. They brought thier airheadedness with them.
I spent the weekend there. Was the most phenomenal impact of my teen years.
.........m.
@@BB-rt9nc It was.
@@BB-rt9nc lol
I was there for about five days if I remember correctly, and I was camped next to one of the few vehicles that they let in. It was a blue Chevy van, and the owner’s name was Guy. if you read this, Guy, I’m the girl that was camped next to you, and you asked me to go to Canada with you. If you see this, answer me back because I would love to say hello and thank you. 💕
I've lived in Oregon my whole life...54 years. I had never heard of Vortex 1. Honestly I think it was a brave undertaking hoping to quell violence in the city. It worked and proved that a gathering that size can be peaceful. It seems many good memories were made, people were respectful as was the government that started it all.
Violence and hatred gets us nowhere. Love and understanding is the key. Don't be biased hypocrites try to see where others are coming from. You don't have to agree but try to comprehend others views and be respectful of them. I feel nobody these days is tolerant to other views they want it their way and will be violent to get it. Violence will NEVER be the answer!
“You are either with me or against me“ George W. Bush
That didn’t help anything especially because he was lying about needing to be there.
Yup! When a GOVERNOR mandates peaceful respect from his law-enforcement apparatus, SHAZAM ! ! !
Tom McCall was a genius!
I was the pregnant woman that was spoken about. I was actually 8 months pregnant at the time.
Wow! Tom McCall was a smart man! Too bad he’s gone. Oregon has gone to shit. Now there’s Governors who want to destroy downtown. What a difference!
This really does seem less significant historically knowing Portland finally did erupt in mayhem in 2020
I was vaguely aware of this event as I was employed 12 hours per day, 7 days per week at $1,25 per hour and glad to have a job. In retrospect, I feel somewhat deprived. Two years later, I embarked on a 38 year military career in the Oregon Air National Guard.
Wow, that’s my uncle Dave 26 seconds in. Recently I saw my great aunt in another one of your videos. Are you recruiting my family members for documentaries or something? Lol I told my mom about this video and she said there’s footage of her in here somewhere. My late dad was there too. Apparently a lot of this footage was filmed by their friend Mike Meachum. Too funny
I saw something during one recent night of the riots three people and an Independent you tube and face book reporter were trying to get away from the smoke bombs, ending up at a down town park coughing, it was late, maybe 3am. A girl had a Mike and starting singing. She for sure a shower singer, but the others clapped to the beat, then a guy took the mike and sang, and another, and others came and they shared what food they had, enjoying them selves. Someone showed up with a guitar and no one wanted to go back to the noise and smoke just a few blocks away. I watch them for an hour total relax, singing, passing goodies around, with no mention of a protest.
If done right a big concert could work, good fibe type music, Antifa would not be welcome with their steady pounding drum beats that hypnotize these rioters and repeating mind controlling phrases. This young people want a sense of togetherness and freedom from the stress of what next. Rioting can be redirected if it's done right. Must have the elements of water, food, music, fresh air etc. not one pounding drum with someone telling them what to say. Vortex 2! No masks, required. This could be a good detour from what is happening now.
It would not work today
plain and simple, different times and different people
Anti fa is short for anti- fascist. My uncles went to WWII to fight fascists called the 3rd Reich in Germany, mussolini in italy, Franco in Spain. Cult leader of all Axis forces named Adolf Hitler. Hello.
It's in history books.
There would be a shooting don't be fooled these kids are something different
@@suetaylor9462 not really. the antifa etc are really just a small core group, the rest would leave and go to a more fun festival. Especially if they could sleep there safely over night for a few days, camped out.
In the long run, let's love one another.
The world needs Vortex 2!!!
no one wants the responsibility of the deaths that would occur at such an event...
there are plenty of places still having rock festivals and such. some are christian music festivals so , not nearly as wild.
@@forgottenman8629 I was just thinking about that today! I was there, and I thought that if we had one of those these days, there would be shootings all over the place. So sad. There was no violence and no theft. I remember someone from a TV station came down and accidentally left her camera on the table and when she came back, she was frantic because she assumed someone would’ve stolen it, but it was right there and someone had wrapped it in plastic for her so it wouldn’t get wet because it had started raining. Can you imagine that happening today? I’m so glad I was a teenager in the late 60s/early 70s. 💕
I had returned almost a year earlier to the Portland after 22 months service with the USMC combat infantry Vietnam I Corps. I was had my fill of violence, hate, brutality. I was happy to be back home in the US, Vortex 1 was a gift. I also was an example of how some in government leadership were willing to trust their wisdom and instincts and those they are responsible to; the ones who elected them. Vortex 1 was a great experience to have been part of.
Had never heard of this. What a courageous way to channel energy into something more positive and save many lives of people who are still living today. Things could have gone horribly wrong but this gave people a positive outlet for their energy.
My dad was there.
I was a ranger at that park.
Hell yeah let's do it again
Attended with parents and 3 siblings. I was 13
I believe this is exactly what we need!
All over too!
omgosh I was there! I can't remember it haha
I moved to Oregon in 1977 I was a waitress and in Oregon you have to get a food servers card. We watched a movie about what not to do to food. It showed the American Legion's convention being the worst food disaster as the sandwiches made with Mayonnaise were NOT refrigerated. Peopled got sick and died!
I was 19. Spent I think 3-4 days there. Memories galore. There were so many rumors of SF bands and named bands coming to play - I wonder if the rumors were spread by McCall's folks to lure all of us loaded freaks. No matter - Portland had some great bands at the time: Portland Zoo, Jacob's Ladder, Brown Sugar were all there, and my favorite of the time: Mixed Blood. Ron Abell led Mixed Blood on drums with his brother Mel on bass and Felix Omar on guitar. I lost track of what happened to them, but would guess the normal: Ego and Drugs did them in. The steam and mud thing was a kick. However, I wonder how many got busted after Vortex due to being scoped out by infiltrated gov't agents.
On the path down hill I was offered LSD for $2 a hit, huh sez I, can't be that good, gimme two and that long strange trip began...
My living in Oregon started 5 Jan '75 on the DD-876 Swan Island till July '79, lived in other places but 15+ years in Yamhill County after that. OPB needs to do a story on the USS Rogers and the USS Hamner that were in Portland for over 5 years. Too bad I cannot post my picture from Willamette Blvd near Portland University overlooking the reserve center and shipyard.
My wife was there in high school .my sister in law wanted me to go with her to vortex .but I had to work to payoff my new motorcycle !
Oh boy ,does watching this make you look at your wife with a few questions on your mind? Lol sorry.
3:10
If you remember where your campsite was, you weren’t really there ; )
Camp sites were fluid.
Hey, that’s my uncle. Be nice lol
I was there, and I remember the guy with the ballon. we were all laughing at him.
I had no idea about this. I go to Mcgiver park all the time.
I was in Nam (Navy) when this went down... missed a good party !
This story makes me laugh and cry with JOY!!!
Epic!!!!
The good old days.
I was there.
Brilliant solution; Brown & Wheeler could learn something from this.
The problem is that the U.S. is still in the midst of a major viral pandemic (which isn’t expected to start going away until as early as April 2021 with the release of a vaccine). It would be irresponsible to create a large get-together; it would create a large surge of new Covid-19 cases and/or deaths, leading to further restrictions getting enforced for the state (even though a lot of self-entitled people were being negligent of some restrictions in the first place) - especially with Labor Day weekend coming shortly.
I’m not saying something like this wouldn’t work to distract from the riots; I’m just explaining the unique complications associated with sponsoring a festival at this moment in time.
@@AustinSPTD1996 I understand your point but would add "cases" does not equate with "sickness." However, that said, it sounds like we agree that a healthy distraction isn't necessarily a bad thing.
This would be perrty cool right now! We would have herd immunity over night! No vaccine needed!
Dave lambardo Instead we’ll likely have to settle for pre- and post-election hijinks!
I understand the enthusiasm for statehood or succession, but with low or no taxes how are you going to afford it - road maintenance and construction, power plants, sewage and waste management, law enforcement, fire medical equipment, and facilities. Emergency equipment and personnel for fires, storms, floods, etc. public spaces like libraries, colleges, career training, airports, parks, hospitals, coastal port construction/improvement, economic development, technology networks, personnel salaries to staff and maintain the needs of the new state or nation. If you become a country you'll also have national defense costs. You're going to have to address these concerns to establish the viability of independence no matter how passionate you are about it.
you know nothing about that part of the country. they want to join Idaho. but why are you bringing that up on a video about Vortex?
My mom went to this, she came over from Missoula
Blessed be the peacemakers
Fascinating. I’ve lived in the PNW nearly 50 years, been to lots of festivals and shows and somehow never heard about Vortex.
Heard warnings about “The Family” gatherings, however, and remember local officials worrying they’d damage park and forest lands. Wonder if they’re still around.
i was there good times
I was there, I was almost 5 years old. A child should not have witnessed what I did LOL!!
And i took my 5 yr old daughter one day and she remembers swimming in her undies. Yes if government could be so rational and creative now.
@@maureencherrick3824 I wanted to go swimming in the river so bad but my mom said there are too many naked people down there. I said I dont care if they're naked I just want to go swimming hahaha
@@VaughnBrown1965 good thing you didn't, a kid could have been easily swept away by that cold and fast strong current .
And yet portland is in turmoil today😬😬😃🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Looking back in time and understand what human evolution makes of us, we are all rooooock kind of people, music changed our lives for the last 40 years, it's useless to ignore it, we can be better kind of people thanks these music happenings and festivals, we can manage things in a better human way, we can give spiritual power it's own independent way, now that web connection raise us a big global family and sharing such cyber experiences, trying to meditate upon things and take better decisions for the future. I think most people is expecting from political leaders to accomplish miracles and this ... miracle never happens. Music festivals were good to give an alternative input, manage things in an independent way because... nobody is that lucky to accomplish miracles at all. United sharing the same goals, only solidarity, humanitarian actions are capable to accomplish miracles we are expecting for and. ..this is the very first step for a begining
I and my soon to be husband were there from start to end
And then Gov. Dan Evans did the same thing a year or two later, with the Sky River Rock Festival.
...in Washington state. It's weird that Cameron Bangs, MD, says that there were no precedents for dealing with bad trips en masse. At that point, there had been several large festivals, and they all had medical professionals who had learned -and tried to pass on- the basics on how to deal with large groups of unhappy hippies.
@@robforrester3727 I think he just said that he was not taught anything about this in medical school.
Actually, I was at both festivals and Sky River happened just a couple of weeks after Vortex. It wasn’t two years. Sky River was horrible, but Vortex was wonderful.
I never heard of Vortex. Everything was so cool back then. Where did they all go. I was born in 68. I was a generation to late for every thing. Im from a time of the disillusioned. They ripped the bandaid off in the 60s and the 70s were dirty. In the 80s it was all about $. Who had it and who didn't. I call the 70s dirty because the pictures of NY.
an interesting document of how people looked like back then. Imagine if we did that today. We DO NOT WANNA SEE IT, I am afraid.
Far out man
Way different today! These guys are anti intellectual and purposeless! Violence for violence sake and no particular bent. A. bunch of N
Murderous thugs! They need jail really bad! Along with that stupid mayor and Governor ! Sickening!
groovy and outa sight.
Maybe that is why Bagwan Shree Rajnish located there!
In National / partisan-political terms, Oregon will always be 'small-potatoes'. I appreciate the the SPLASH created by VORTEX I.
Too bad we don’t have leaders that brilliant today. Now it’s just,”let the chips fall where they may” no matter who it hurts, or how many businesses we lose. Portland has become a third world country.
it wasn't mcCall's idea, but he accepted it from others though, great move.
We got high with Elvin Bishop
Can we do this again? In the summer of 2024 , let’s go 😀😂🤣😁😆😊😌
Yesss ! 💯💯💯👍👍👍
This seems not as significant after the Mayhem in Portland in the summer of 2020.
it seems more significant to me, though.
@@cherylcampbell9369nobody learned it seemed. Portland wasn’t save from chaos half century later
that would have ben GREAT too see at 13 years old ? what do you think ?
17:28
@10:32 well that’s kind of crappy.
It’s sad how much people obsess over nudity even to this day, so what if someone’s nude? Who they harming? There are always far more important things to worry about than a penis lol. It’s awesome that a fest like Woodstock was still realistic at that point.
I was 3 years old but would have gone if I was an 20 year old kid!!!!!
If you were a 20 year old "kid" you would be in the draft and taken off to war and there was nothing you could do about it. Would that have been fun.
It was not just about music and drugs and naked people. Those times made your time possible
what a great story! they should have done this during BLM ....
💯💯💯👍👍👍
Happened in my town, Estacada...NOT Portland...Not even close! hell the old hippie types still wont stop talking about their vortex.
you don't have good comprehension. This video SAID it was 30 MILES OUTSIDE PORTLAND AND IT WAS DONE TO DISTRACT THE YOUNG FROM NIXON AND THE LEGION coming in to Portland. so there wouldn't be a riot. duhhhh
Pax Portlanda, 1970.
Geniuses
Fais ce que peut, advienne que pourra. ⚔📺🐬
why do you make us go to google translate ?
@@theCosmicQueen Who's fault is it if square heads can't read French? ⚜🏴☠
@25:58 obviously he’s never been to Seattle for Pride.
Yeah prob less ass
this was 1970. they didn't have Pride then.
LSD historian here. Anybody who can clearly remember what types of LSD were available at this festival please leave a comment below. Include name and type and expected dosage. For instance, Pill-Blue Cheer 300 Mcg, Or gel square-Windowpane 150Mcg, blotting paper-Mr. Natural 800 Mcg, etc. Thank you.
probably purple haze and i think it was yellow sunshine. common around there at the time. small pills. Sort of in its infancy, so nothing fancy yet.
I remember seeing a sign there that said something like “Double dome acid is bad - watch out.”
This wouldn’t work today. Portland once again does need to be saved from chaos, but it’s a different kind of chaos and not one that drugs and psychedelic music is going to solve.
We didn't come down from Seattle to attend because we all believed it was organized and promoted by "the pigs" Republican establishment. Went to Sky River Washougal WA instead
Chaz was so much more successful
You were right, good on you.
@@timcombs2730 chaz was evil garbage, get real.
I was at both and Sky River was awful. It didn’t have the same vibe at all and it rained constantly. I had a miserable time. Vortex was wonderful. Just my opinion.
@@whitebirchtarot I think we both missed out by not attending Seattle Pop at Gold Creek outside Seatle. July sunny weather, The Doors, almost every major act of the time including one of the first US big shows for Led Zeppelin
A Republican governor doing it right!
OR had several sharp Rep electeds in the day, it also had several sharp Dem electeds in the day, those days are sadly no longer...
Who’s going to save Portland now from Kate Brown and Ted Wheeler?
No one. They got Kotek. She’ll be worse.
And now look where it's at:(
Ahhh, so this is the reason that Portland is not a basketcase today....Viva le 60's Hedonista!
but it is a basket case today. was much better then, in 1970. Before all the sickos and leftists came up from california. .
Sounds like a hippie concentration camp to me.
Counterculturecommuneconcentrationcannabiscamp
Lol seems they desperately need another rock concert. From the looks of things in Portland today the only music Portlanders enjoy now comes from Hitler’s personal playlist.
Peace
The people who went to the rock festival were not real hippies (anti war activists). Protesting against the horrors of the Vietnam War which caused tremendous suffering to the Vietnamese people was far more important than attending a rock festival.
Agreed.
Ah, my friend, "anti-war activists" were not "hippies". Or vice versa. One of these days I'll have to gather what wits I have left about myself and write an...essay. Or something. 🙃 Next long road trip.
My husband and I refused to be sidetracked from protesting the presence of the American Legion in our city. Marching up SW Broadway with maybe a hundred others the only “violence” that was threatened came from the snipers on every other building, pointing their fire arms in our general direction.
I thought ( at the time, and still do) that Vortex was a cop out, a true separation of the sheep from the goats. No peace, no justice - so let’s go smoke pot and get naked and congratulate ourselves for being feckless and self-serving, while our government made war on the Vietnamese in our name!
Such an angry tolerant liberal!
Wow! 🤦🏻
And yet in the end it was the festival that made Nixon pull a no-show, not your individual action.
That is a great lesson!
You should join up with Antifa. Sounds like your type of people.
Ok boomer
Free Palestine, Free Vietnam
A rock festival with no music venue. Who the fuck played there.
Lots of groups played there and they were good.
But they are enveloped in chaos, crime and addiction.
Don’t give Kate any ideas. We need to finish what we started downtown.
Finish burning it down?
Yeah, @JETZcorp--- what WAS that they "started downtown"?! I was way down here in the boonies and never COULD figure out the point.
you guys go down in history as the BADGUYS and nothing else.
The seeds of Portland's current dysfunction were planted here
No, the Leftists later went totalitarian. They are more destructive then those in the center or Right.
That’s ridiculous! Long before Vortex, people from Portland and the surrounding area were marching weekly against the war, and I was one of them.
Goddamn CZcams ads and fk Solgen Power
The first time I was in Oregon was 1972 , I hitched from SF to Eugene because we heard it was cool , oh yeah it was , it was freakin beautiful, see what happens kids are left alone to be cool with themselves, maybe not these days though.🦬🪶🦬🪶☮️
I was there.
I was there.