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The organizers had told Bethel officials that they were expecting only 50,000 people, though they thought the figure would be at least twice that, but nearly 500,000 people descended on the 600-acre dairy farm property of Max Yasgur to hear rock musicians such as [[Jimi Hendrix]], [[Janis Joplin]] (both of whom later died from drug overdoses) and others.  

The organizers had told Bethel officials that they were expecting only 50,000 people, though they thought the figure would be at least twice that, but nearly 500,000 people descended on the 600-acre dairy farm property of Max Yasgur to hear rock musicians such as [[Jimi Hendrix]], [[Janis Joplin]] (both of whom later died from drug overdoses) and others.  

The festival was conceived by Artie Kornfeld,  25, a hash-smoking vice president at Capitol Records, and Michael Lang, at 2am in the morning after a bumper pool game and a smoking [[marijuana]]. Lang was owner of a head shop in the state of Florida, and had produced the two-day Miami Pop Festival.  They were joined by John Roberts and Joel Rosenman as organizers of the Woodstock Festival. Roberts, who possessed a lieutenant's commission in the Army, and had only seen one rock concert (by the Beach Boys) supplied the bulk of the funding, being  heir to a drugstore and toothpaste manufacturing fortune, with a multimillion-dollar trust fund. An organization was formed called Woodstock Ventures, Inc., after the little Ulster County town where Bob Dylan lived, from whence the Woodstock Festival received its name. After Ventures was turned down from playing in Wallkill, due to local opposition and alleged deception by Rosenman, the organizers contracted to pay Max Yasgur (December 15, 1919 - February 9, 1973), the owner of a dairy farm in Bethel, 75,000 dollars for the use of 600 acres of land.

The festival was conceived by Artie Kornfeld,  25, a hash-smoking vice president at Capitol Records, and Michael Lang, at 2am in the morning after a bumper pool game and a smoking [[marijuana]]. Lang was owner of a head shop in the state of Florida, and had produced the two-day Miami Pop Festival.  They were joined by John Roberts and Joel Rosenman as organizers of the Woodstock Festival. Roberts, who possessed a lieutenant's commission in the Army, and had only seen one rock concert (by the Beach Boys), supplied the bulk of the funding, being  heir to a drugstore and toothpaste manufacturing fortune, with a multimillion-dollar trust fund. An organization was formed called Woodstock Ventures, Inc., after the little Ulster County town where Bob Dylan lived, from whence the Woodstock Festival received its name. After Ventures was turned down from playing in Wallkill, due to local opposition and alleged deception by Rosenman, the organizers contracted to pay Max Yasgur (December 15, 1919 - February 9, 1973), the owner of a dairy farm in Bethel, 75,000 dollars for the use of 600 acres of land.

Yasgur was highly respected across Sullivan County as a strong-willed but modest man who keep his word, though much of the area was opposed to him renting his property to hippies.<ref>Elliot Tiber, How Woodstock Happened</ref> He is reported to have once said to his wife, "When I decide that I have to drive by someone in need of help and not stop, that's not the kind of world I want to live in."  On the Sunday of the festival Yasgur breifly addressed the crowd from the stage, commending them that half a million people can get together and have three days of fun and music, and have nothing but fun and music.God bless you all."   

Yasgur was highly respected across Sullivan County as a strong-willed but modest man who keep his word, though much of the area was opposed to him renting his property to hippies.<ref>Elliot Tiber, How Woodstock Happened</ref> He is reported to have once said to his wife, "When I decide that I have to drive by someone in need of help and not stop, that's not the kind of world I want to live in."  On the Sunday of the festival Yasgur briefly addressed the crowd from the stage, commending them that "half a million people can get together and have three days of fun and music, and have nothing but fun and music."   

In contrast to the culture Woodstock came to represent, Yasgur was a hardworking [[Republican]] businessman/farmer (with only three fingers on his right hand), who supported the [[Vietnam war]]. In response to opposition to the Festival by some members of the Town Board in Bethel, Yasgur stated,"I don't particularly like the looks of some of those kids either. I don't particularly like their lifestyle, especially the drugs and free love. And I don't like what some of them are saying about our government." However, he also believed that tens of thousands of American soldiers died to provide such freedom.  In particular, Yasgur was strongly opposed to the use of recreational drugs, especially [[LSD]]. Later in his life, hundreds of festival-goers wrote and said that they quit drugs as a result of Woodstock and Yasgur's personal ideals. Yasgur died in 1973 as a result of a heart condition he had suffered from for many years.  

In contrast to the culture Woodstock came to represent, Yasgur was a hardworking [[Republican]] businessman/farmer (with only three fingers on his right hand), who supported the [[Vietnam war]]. In response to opposition to the Festival by some members of the Town Board in Bethel, Yasgur stated,"I don't particularly like the looks of some of those kids either. I don't particularly like their lifestyle, especially the drugs and free love. And I don't like what some of them are saying about our government." However, he also said he believed that tens of thousands of American soldiers died to provide such freedom.  Yasgur was strongly opposed to the use of recreational drugs, in particular [[LSD]]. Later in his life, hundreds of festival-goers wrote and said that they quit drugs as a result of Woodstock and Yasgur's personal ideals. Yasgur died in 1973 as a result of a heart condition he had suffered from for many years.  

In the aftermath of the festival, Yasgur stated, "The worst thing about Woodstock was that there were just too many.  I wouldn't have done it if I knew there were going to be half a million instead of 40,000... Bethel is a rural town and can't service a crowd that big... I had no right to have any kind of affair that would block vital services from reaching my neighbors."

In the aftermath of the festival, Yasgur stated, "The worst thing about Woodstock was that there were just too many.  I wouldn't have done it if I knew there were going to be half a million instead of 40,000... Bethel is a rural town and can't service a crowd that big... I had no right to have any kind of affair that would block vital services from reaching my neighbors."