Oral history interview with Larry Gordon

Oral history interview with Larry Gordon

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.

16 September 2015

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

Permission to publish material from the Vermont 1970s Counterculture Project must be obtained from the Vermont Historical Society.

MP3

Audio File

AudioFile1970s-45

Plainfield (Vt.)

Rowell, Leslie

Gordon, Larry, 1945-

Marshfield (Vt.)

54 min., 32 sec.

Vermont Historical Society Library, 60 Washington Street, Barre, VT 05641-4209