Oral history interview with Larry Gordon
Title
Oral history interview with Larry Gordon
Description
Larry Gordon describes growing up in a very political household, becoming involved with Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at Swarthmore College and at Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts, particularly the community organizing aspect, and discusses people he worked with and his work with low income groups throughout Boston. Through SDS he became friends with Sam Clark and was part of the formation of the New Hamburger Commune in Plainfield, Vermont and their jointly-owned house in Boston. He describes cooperative economic aspects of the communal organization at New Hamburger and his involvement in the development of the Plainfield Co-op. Larry speaks of meeting Alan Troxler who introduced him to shape note singing in Boston, its start in Vermont with Bread and Puppet Theater, then in residence at Goddard College in Plainfield, and the subsequent formation of the Word of Mouth Chorus in 1972. Larry ends the interview by describing the development and growth of Village Harmony, the Onion River Chorus, and Northern Harmony, and their continued work with young people in international music and touring. He reflects on the importance of creating networks at local levels to empower and support people.
Date
16 September 2015
Subject
Gordon, Larry, 1945- Interviews
Swarthmore College--Students
Suffolk University--Students
Students for a Democratic Society (U.S.)
Community organization--Massachusetts--Boston
Clark, Sam
New Hamburger (Plainfield, Vt.)
Communal living--Vermont--Plainfield
Shape-note singing--Vermont
Troxler, Alan
Word of Mouth Chorus
Bread and Puppet Theater
Plainfield Co-op (Vt.)
Food cooperatives--Vermont--Plainfield
Choral societies--Vermont
Hippies--Vermont--Plainfield
Rights
Permission to publish material from the Vermont 1970s Counterculture Project must be obtained from the Vermont Historical Society.
Format
MP3
Type
Audio File
Identifier
AudioFile1970s-45
Coverage
Plainfield (Vt.)
Interviewer
Rowell, Leslie
Interviewee
Gordon, Larry, 1945-
Location
Marshfield (Vt.)
Duration
54 min., 32 sec.
Repository
Vermont Historical Society Library, 60 Washington Street, Barre, VT 05641-4209
Citation
“Oral history interview with Larry Gordon,” Digital Vermont: A Project of the Vermont Historical Society, accessed January 17, 2021, https://www.digitalvermont.org/vt70s/AudioFile1970s-45.