Great resourses, featuring a free
download of the new book by Tim Hodgson, searching for hippie origins
first among the diggers, and later at The Farm.
Morningstar Lives, by Phil Morningstar - collage' of both Wheeler's and Morningstar Ranch folk ( click on the picture to enlarge it)
Morningstar and Wheeler's Ranches where both in Sonoma County,and where unique amongst communes, as they where declared "Open Land" ranches, Access Which Was Denied No-One.
The main Founders of each (Lou Gottlieb, Ramon Sender and Bill Wheeler where also close friends).
Morningstar was open first, and started as a small family based community with Lou Gottlieb, the main Focalizer, and his colorful wisdom combined with his "onstage" presence (Lou was a member of the popular band the Limeliters) propelled him into the spotlight that the media had on the communes at the time. He and Ramon Sender became the main "spokesmen" to stand up for the land against the negative media frenzy and governmental manipulation of laws that eventually led to the bulldozing of the commune .
Wheeler's Ranch was open during the time Morningstar was going through it's hassles, and of course , because of the "war on hippies" that was being waged by our government, Wheeler's began to get the same kind of hassles as Morningstar.
After Morningstar was bulldozed, it's members scattered near and far. Some going to live on Wheeler's, while others went to Morningstar New Mexico, or just went their seperate ways. Ramon Sender was one who helped write the "Manifesto II on Wheeler's.
Wheeler's continued to fight "against the machine", but the intent of the government at the time, was to do away with the open land ranches, and in 1973 Wheeler's ranch met the fate of the bulldozers too.
It is wonderful now, more than 30 years later, to see folk again speaking of "returning to the land", and folk coming together to live communally in the country and woods, as well as big citys and small towns. The system bulldozed open land 30 years ago - but the spirit and tribal truth of open land lives and glows brightly in the Hearts of the people. May we all find our way back to Tribal Unity, and the Land. In Peace. And Love. And find joy in the knowledge that we are helping to heal our planet and our lives, as we build our Brave New World.
Peace.
Char~*
