Asa, I have exciting news for you about this stop on Asa’s World Tour of Maine! We are going to play in Woodstock…Maine! Alright, so it isn’t the Woodstock in New York where the famous music festival took place in August 1969. But technically that music festival didn’t take place in Woodstock either. It was held in Bethel, New York, approximately 40 miles southwest of Woodstock, when the permits for the original location didn’t work out. However, the name stuck.

Chuck Billy: Speaking of names sticking, in 1814 when the residents of this town in Maine petitioned the General Court of Boston, Massachusetts, who held jurisdiction over the state at that time, they requested the town be named Sparta. There’s no explanation though why when in 1815 the Governor of Massachusetts approved the petition to establish this town, the name was changed to Woodstock on the official proclamation.

Asa: That is far out!

Chuck Billy: You’ll be interested to know that Woodstock, Maine has a bigger and more permanent claim to fame than a music festival. It is home to a 14 foot tall monument to the last hand-cranked telephone used in the United States! According to the sign, Barbara and Elden Hathaway purchased the Bryant Pond Telephone Company in 1951. They operated this independent hand-cranked phone system until 1981, when it was sold to Oxford Networks Company and integrated into the national system.

Asa: Groovy! Crank it up!

Chuck Billy: Bryant Pond is a village in the town of Woodstock, and it is where we are headed for our hike.

Asa: I can dig the cool vibes here at Buck’s Ledge Community Forest.

Chuck Billy: I was thinking you could perform on this footbridge an iconic song from the Woodstock festival. Maybe a little Janice Joplin’s “Ball and Chain,” or how about The Who’s “My Generation,” or maybe a parody of Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze”?

Asa: No man, let’s just commune with nature in unity and peace.

Join us tomorrow as we share our hike at Buck’s Ledge Community Forest as we continue on Asa’s World Tour of Maine!