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University Daily Kansan / Wednesday, September 25. 1991
IN THE TOWN
Acid trips, road trips and decadence
Lawrence writers publish collection of memories of escapades during the '60s
Editors David Ohle, left, Susan Brosseau and Roger Martin collected oral tales of '60s experiences for "Cows Are Freaky When They Look Like"
By Melissa Rodgers Kansan staff writer
They are the tales of personal odysseys: acid trips, abandonments, sex, relationships and experimentation bound by three Lawrence writers.
The book, "Cows are Freaky When They Look at You: An Oral History of the Kaw Valley Hemp Pickers," has been described by its creators as dark laughter and an oral history of human experience in the '60s.
The book, compiled by three editors, is a sometimes shocking compilation of memories of wild times, drug use, decadence and joy that took place during the Flower Power decade in Lawrence. The editors, David Ohle, Susan Brosseau and Roger Martin, are all writers who live in Lawrence.
William Burroughs, the well-known Beat generation author and Lawrence resident, said the short stories were a collection of wartime tales to inadvertent war-poies.
Many of the book's main characters were loosely associated with a group that jokingly called themselves the Kaw Valley Hemp Pickers.
The stories include the likes of Buzzy Flashback, Montana Trotsky, Za, Jonah Bone and Deputy Dawg — the names have been changed to protect the characters, but they still because many of the characters still live in the Lawrence area.
Buzzy and associates tell of trips to a Clinton Lake farmhouse that doubled as a commune; to Paris to buy wholesale hashish, which would be sold back in Lawrence; and to the Big Owens where the Kansas death match was held.
The Kansas death match was an annual contest to determine who could win.
The hemp pickers also tell of sojourns in San Francisco's Haight Ashbury neighborhood, hallucinogenic road trips to the coasts and people they met on the way.
The stories touch on the light, as well as the recklessness and experimentation.
In the story "Slow Motion," a carload of friends taking acid are driving
through the Flint Hills and are debat-
ing whether it's moving or wiher
it's parked on the road.
But the stories also tell of inesc, a funeral pyre, a suicide at the El Niwa jovel, and the chilling disappearance of the man who has not been heard from in 10 years.
...Some people looked out, saw the white stripes whizzing by and said, "No, no, man, don't put your foot out there. Look how fast we're going..." I stepped out onto the pavement. With the door open, I looked back at the driver. "Well," he said, "are we moving or aren't we?"
The three often talked about putting together a collection of short stories from that era. It was not until Owl returned to Lawrence five years ago that Brosseau and Owl began collectible stories. Martin later joined the endeavor.
"The Kaw Valley Hemp Pickers were sort of a countercultural Kiwanis Club, he said. "It was a mock organizer." He also noted the setting of wild hemp in the Kaw Valley."
The Kaw Valley Hemp Pickers did most of their hanging out at the Rock Chalk Cafe (now The Crossing) and The Gas Light (now a grassy hill near The Crossing), said Roger Martin, one of the book's creators.
The editors took about five years to compile and edit the stories.
All three said the catalyst for the
The book's creators and editors are Susan Brosseau, David Ohle and Martin. Ohle has written fiction for as Harper's and Esquire magazines. Martin writes for and is editor of Explore, an award-winning research
magazine.
project was Lawrence's master stool teller, Wayne Propst. Obi wanted to record Propt's stories. From there, the stories began to branch out, he said. Propt appears in the book as the character W. Prop
Ole and Brosseau's story collecting usually coincided with a social event. They would record stories when acquaintances began reminiscing.
Martin approached his stories in a more journalistic fashion by setting up interviews.
"He was able to obtain some of the more sensitive personal stories this way." Obie said.
Not only did the three record others' stories, but they also contributed their own stories to the collection.
Martin said some people were squeamish about telling their stories.
"You can't get people to tell stories like these if their identities were to be revealed," he said.
Identities had to be disguised or protected, Martin said. One story involves incest. The person, a professional who was a teacher, connected with the story, Martin said.
Brosseau said people sometimes tried to guess who the characters in the stories were. Part of the game now is helping the identities secret, Ohle
Many people in the area were enthusiastic about the book, although it has been met with some mixed reactions, she said.
"A few people felt injured by things that were said about them in the book or felt that the experiences were too precious to talk about," she said.
Ohle said the politics of the times were deliberately left out of the book. But the shadows of the era creep in.
One story mentions the KU Campbell bell tolling 44,000 times for the war.
Martin said people from his generation have enjoyed the book
When collecting the stories, no one talked of politics, just their personal experiences, Ohle said.
However, he said some people in their 20s consider the book decadent and overly complicated.
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