GOOD OL' GRATEFUL DEADCAST

Episode: Sunshine Daydream: Veneta, 8/27/72, Part 1

Date Released: August 18, 2022
Hosts: Rich Mahan & Jesse Jarnow

Episode Overview

The kickoff to Season 6 of the Good Ol’ Grateful Deadcast celebrates the 50th anniversary of the legendary Veneta, Oregon “Field Trip” show played by the Grateful Dead on August 27, 1972. This first part delves deep into the cultural context of the event, the intertwining histories of the Grateful Dead and the Springfield Creamery, and the vibrant countercultural scene of early ’70s Oregon. The episode features a rich tapestry of archival and original interviews with band associates, the Kesey family, community members, historians, and special guests, expertly weaving the story of how music, food, and community activism resulted in one of the most storied concerts in rock history.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene: Veneta, Oregon, August 1972

• The show took place at a benefit for Springfield Creamery, featuring three Dead sets on a sweltering day and immortalized in the film Sunshine Daydream.
• David Lemieux, Dead archivist, calls it his pick for the Grateful Dead show he’d most want to attend:

  “The one show? Without a doubt… it would be Veneta.” (05:29)

• Johnny Dwork, Deadhead historian, frames the show as “the most historically important, most culturally essential, and most experientially powerful Grateful Dead show.” (06:27)

2. The Springfield Creamery Story & the Kesey Family

• Founded in the 1960s by the Keseys, it became famous for its pioneering yogurt (Nancy’s Honey Yogurt).
• The Creamery’s counter-cultural roots: an “activist” food business on the cutting edge of organic, probiotic products before the market or terminology existed.
  • Sue Kesey: “There was this former creamery building in Springfield… we could set up a little processing plant.” (10:04)
• Ken Kesey, famed author and Merry Prankster, briefly worked at the Creamery after writing One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
• The infamous “apple wine incident” and subsequent media attention exemplified their outsider status:

  “I came back and it was full of cops, like 25 cops … Our reputation went down the drain with the apples.” (18:28)

3. Counterculture & the Natural Foods Revolution

• Historian Joshua Clark Davis outlines how health food, organic produce, and businesses like Springfield Creamery blurred boundaries between commerce and activism.
  • “It's yogurt, it's tofu, it's organic produce… All the things that were happening—music, drugs, food, counterculture—it’s all clicking in right at that moment.” (15:45)
  • Health food had “freak connotations,” leading to suspicion and resistance from mainstream authorities. (17:27)
• The rising “head shop–to–Whole Foods” pipeline: interconnected networks of alternative products and businesses.

4. Nancy’s Honey Yogurt: Creation Myth and Personalities

• Nancy Hamren, namesake and lifer at the Creamery, shares recollections of moving from Haight Ashbury hippie to Oregon food pioneer.
  • “One day [the co-op manager] called up to order some more, and she said, give me some of that Nancy’s yogurt. It just got named for us.” (24:45)
• Community validation of the yogurt’s cultural stature:
  • “It was spoken of in reverent tones, as though you were talking about something that was in the Whole Earth Catalog.” (Richard Sutton, 25:52)

5. Huey Lewis’s Surprising Role

• Future star Huey Lewis co-founded a natural foods distribution business based on Nancy’s Yogurt, driving deliveries from Oregon to the Bay Area.
  • “Huey always said that he wrote ‘Workin’ for a Living’ while he was driving their truck down to Santa Cruz to make deliveries.” (30:25)
• He remembers:

  “We would drive the truck up to Eugene… load the truck and take a nap at Rosanna’s house and then drive to the Bay Area and then go to our various and distribute it as well.” (31:31)

6. The Creamery as Community Anchor

• The Health Food & Pool Store: a natural foods hub and local gathering place, replete with a pool table.

  “We just started putting together a natural food store… and it was called the health food and pool store.” (Sue Kesey, 35:13)

• The “incubator” effect: the store helped launch regional food brands and allowed other small producers to test out their products (e.g., Kettle Chips, local granola and tofu).

7. The Origin of the Benefit Concert

• The Creamery found itself in financial trouble, notably following payroll tax issues.
  • “We needed some kind of good idea to pull us out of this dilemma.” (Sue Kesey, 41:10)
• The Dead agreed—decidedly due to Oregon roots and support from roadie Ramrod (himself an Oregon native).

  “Their head roadie… said, these are good people. They need to be saved. This is worth doing. And they agreed.” (43:02)

• 28 days to pull off an outdoor event on land connected to the Oregon Renaissance Fair—a location with strong ties to alternative communities.

8. Building the Event: Renaissance Fair, Community, & DIY Spirit

• Construction and organization handled on a shoestring by local volunteers.
  • “We built a city in 28 days and had a concert with a lot of help. It was mostly volunteers.” (Sue Kesey, 48:43)
• Tickets printed on yogurt labels, sold for $3–$3.50, with an estimated 13,000 sold and 25,000 attending (50:22, 81:34).
• Posters and art work by local creatives, solidifying the event’s DIY ethos.
• The Oregon Renaissance/Country Fair as an event locus for the region's alternative culture.

9. The Sunshine Daydream Film Crew

• John Norris and Sam Field initiated filming, following the Dead on the Europe ’72 tour and then assembling local film talent to capture Veneta.
  • Director Adrian Aran shares the backstory of getting the production going, shadowing the Dead before the benefit was green-lit. (53:26)
• Local film collective FWAPS (Far West Action Picture Services) joined, capturing not only the show but also the surrounding alternative culture.

10. Local Communes and Counterculture Networks

• Local communes (Mud Farm, Goat Farm, Church of the Creative, Rainbow Family, etc.) played vital roles as event labor, security (Hodads), and logistical support.
• The area was a haven for political radicals and underground figures; even the famed actor Al Strobel (“Mike” from Twin Peaks) was a commune member and builder.
• Strider Brown, avatar for “the committed and the curious,” shares his journey from the East Coast, through the Rainbow Gathering, to Oregon for the show, guiding listeners through the typical Dead freak’s odyssey of the time.

11. The Day of the Show: August 27, 1972

• Community excitement and word-of-mouth spread rapidly, with attendees caravanning from across the region.
  • “We drove over in the panel truck and then we start getting into the traffic coming out of Eugene. We crawled along, you know, at a snail pace… Parked and nobody was even taking tickets.” (Strider Brown, 79:26)
• Early arrivals staked out precious shade as temperatures soared above 100°F.
• The New Riders of the Purple Sage opened, and the festival included “parachutists, trains rolling by, salt tablets, and plenty of blue acid.”
  • “Parachutist landed near the stable.” (85:04)
  • Public Service Announcement: “Give him a salt tablet, someone, please. Salt. The water is all drained from my body… The salt tablets over there at the Whitebird tent is where they’re at.” (Ken Babs, 86:05)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• David Lemieux:

  “The one show? Without a doubt… it would be Veneta.” (05:29)

• Johnny Dwork:

  “I've long held that the Aug. 27 field trip is the most historically important, most culturally essential, and most experientially powerful Grateful Dead show in the band's long and deep, deservedly legendary history.” (06:27)

• Sue Kesey:

  “We built a city in 28 days and had a concert with a lot of help. With a lot of help. It was mostly volunteers. Almost everything was volunteers. The stage was built with volunteers.” (48:43)

• Huey Lewis:

  “Huey always said that he wrote ‘Workin’ for a Living’ while he was driving their truck down to Santa Cruz to make deliveries.” (30:25)

• Ken Babs (as MC):

  “Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Today's program has been brought to you by ST standing for salt tablet. Now it's been recommended by our sponsor that everybody take one or two… Alrighty already. So the salt tablets over there at the Whitebird tent is where they're at.” (86:05)

Important Timestamps

• [05:29] David Lemieux’s “show I’d attend” pick
• [06:27] Johnny Dwork’s commentary on Veneta’s significance
• [15:45] Joshua Clark Davis on food/culture synergy
• [24:45] Nancy’s Yogurt gets its name
• [30:25] Huey Lewis’s yogurt-trucking side hustle
• [35:13] Opening of the Health Food & Pool Store
• [41:10] The Creamery in financial trouble
• [43:02] Ramrod’s support and the Dead’s commitment
• [48:43] Organizing the benefit & volunteer mobilization
• [53:26] Sunshine Daydream film background
• [79:26] Arrival at the concert: “Nobody was even taking tickets.”
• [86:05] Salt tablet public service announcement

Tone and Storytelling

The episode’s tone is affectionate, warm, and highly detailed, invoking a sense of nostalgia and deep community lore. The conversation blends first-person reminiscence, social history, humor, and Deadhead mythmaking—staying true to the show’s tagline: “For the committed and the curious.”

Conclusion

Part one of this deep dive sets the stage for both the mythic music and the practical, human-scale efforts that made the Veneta show legendary: from financial struggle to grassroots mobilization, from the birth of Nancy’s Yogurt to the lived-in reality of Oregon’s hippie counterculture. The Grateful Dead, true to form, show up as both rock stars and community members, entwined in a scene built on music, food, activism, and a singular spirit of togetherness under the hot August sun.

Stay tuned for Part 2, which promises more tales from the day, musical highlights, and the full story of the performance itself—Sunshine Daydream indeed.