Lakeside (excerpt from chapter 9)

An old Methodist church had been "de-sanctified," I was told, and was no longer a place of religion, but rather a coffeehouse. On certain evenings, anyone could go to Lakeside, take an instrument and sing along in the impromptu jam sessions. I had never been to a coffeehouse, but watched enough episodes of "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" to envision finger-snapping beatniks reading bland poetry. Images of Maynard G. Krebs flashed in my head. Still, this was the early 1970s, beatniks were now hippies and the whole counterculture movement was continuously splashed throughout the media. I was curious but, at the same time, apprehensive about this new place called Lakeside. I decided I should check it out once.

Upstairs in the old church building, I found myself in a small, candlelit room where my two new musician friends and at least 10 other unfamiliar people crowded. One of these was a young, clean-cut Methodist minister. He seemed to be well-acquainted with a quiet, strange-looking couple, who held hands and sat in the lotus position staring into space. (Later, I learned that they actually lived in the church.) There was no music. With my battered guitar case in hand, I was ready to turn around and forget the whole idea. But the minister was friendly and personable; he motioned me to sit down and join in the rap session. Reluctantly, I set my case aside and sat on the floor, since the room had no furniture.

Initially, I was afraid of being pulled into some bizarre cult or new religion, but I soon found out that there was something else going on here. Teenagers and young adults were discussing Vietnam, civil rights, women's liberation, and ecology -- signs of the turbulent and changing times. These were intelligent, likable people with views to be conveyed to anyone who would listen. It was fascinating and engaging conversation but it also did not take long for guitars and harmonicas to come out of cases. The songs played weren't necessarily from the current pop charts. Instead, they were the songs of Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, John Prine, Steve Goodman and others. It changed my perception of '50s American folk music (I'm thinking The Kingston Trio's "Tom Dooley"). This was folk music for my generation and it intrigued me.