OCR transcript of article: Pop Concert Draws Criticism A pop concert of rock and roll bands brought hundreds of hippies to Saugatuck on the Fourth of July. The presence of the strangely dressed, longhaired concertgoers brought criticism from Saugatuck officials. The concert itself, held at Pottawattamie Beach north of Saugatuck, was loud but orderly and the audience dispersed as showers hit about 2 a.m. when the show ended. The concert was promoted by Mike Quatro of Grosse Pointe, a former pianist turned booking agent. When Saugatuck area officials learned of the planned concert they met with the Allegan County prosecuting attorney. The village has made progress in control of holiday crowds the past two years and officials were fearful that the additional crowds brought by a concert might get out of hand. Prosecutor George Greig while meeting with Village President Lynn McCray and Saugatuck Township Supervisor Phillip Quade, phoned the promoter and the operators of Pottawattamie. He cautioned them against permitting camping, which is prohibited in the township, and against underage drinking and minors buying liquor. Additional sheriff’s deputies and state police were assigned to the concert. The Allegan County Health Department was asked to see that adequate temporary sanitary facilities were available. In readying the village for theholiday. President McCray secured 26 police officers, plus additional help from the State Police. As on previous holidays, barricades were readied so that traffic could be diverted from the downtown area in order to keep cars moving and keep fire lanes open. On the morning of the Fourth, people began to arrive for the holiday and the concert. In addition to theusual family visitors and college students, a number of persons fitting the description of hippies strolled the sidewalks. Some were dressed almost in rags and carried bedrolls. Some wore old Army uniforms. Some had fancy clothing and beads. A squadron of motorcyclists roared through town across the river, and then most of the cyclists parked at the foot of Mt. Baldhead and climbed to thetop. There were other people in town, too. Cabin cruisers and sailboats appeared to fill all available slips. There were boats rafted eight deep in the river behind Coral Gables. Cars filled the parking spots along downtown streets. The concert started about 6 p. m. Traffic was backed up along the Blue Star Highway as cars waited to gain admission to Pottawattamie. The price was $2.25 a person. By 10 p. m. there appeared to be about 1,000 cars parked along the sandy roads leading to the beach area. A bandstand had been erected on a small hill in a clearing to the right of the beach area. A crowd, estimated at about 2,500 by Mrs. William Manifold of Pottawattamie and by McCray, and at 3,000 by Mike Quatro, was seated on the ground in front of the bandstand. Most of the crowd was listening to the music. There were a few couples necking on blankets around the periphery. A few people were drinking. The atmosphere was more like an outdoor concert than a campus beer party. Most of the audience was dressed in sweatshirts and poplin jackets. Perhaps a fourth had hippie garb. From the stage the noise boomed forth. One group, with long scraggly hair and loud costumes jumped about as they played and sang. Toward the end of their final number the guitarist started banging his instrument on the rafters. As thenumber ended, the performers all raced to theback of the stage and pushed over their amplifiers. Later, near the gate to Pottawattamie, Mike Quatro, with black Kennedy-style hair and sideburns, dressed in a blue velvet Nehru jacket and tattersall pants, said he used to be a pianist and played on television, including the Welk show. He retired at 18 and went into booking music groups. Rock and roll is by far the biggest part of his business, he said, and it may amount to $300,000 this year. He said he believes the concert shows that young people can be orderly while listening to their kind of music. He said theconcert helped, rather than hindered, the efforts of Saugatuck to control its holiday crowd. Mrs. Manifold said Sunday that there was no trouble with the crowd. People left at about 12 and 2 when it rained. Later, he said, police checked the area to make sure no one was camping there. The village put up its barricades from 12:30 to 3 a.m. Most of the people apparently drove home after theconcert ended. A few slept in nearby fields, according to area residents. Supervisor Quade said the township did not authorize or give approval for the concert. He said he would want to discuss any possible future promotions in advance with the promoters so they can be advised of the laws and so adequate police protection can be set up. The worst problem connected with the concert appeared to be traffic, he said. McCray said one hippie was jailed for taking a flag from its sidewalk mounting in Saugatuck. Some others then threatened a sit-in but were deterred by police, he said. McCray said, "I regret we had to put up with the type of people we had in town over the Fourth of July, after getting the town in shape the past few years. It was entirely due to the so-called pop festival. "These people don't spend any money here. The promoter takes it all and leaves. Trying to protect our town is costly. I'm confident I speak for the majority of people in Saugatuck in not liking this type of business. "I made an effort to try and stop this ever happening in the township but it was impossible to do so. I will continue to do my level best to keep such affairs from taking place. I am not opposed to the type of music that theyouth likes but I definitely am opposed to having to put up with the majority of the type it draws." Robert Taft, president of the Saugatuck-Douglas Chamber of Commerce, said one television station showed some bands and some close-ups of thepeople and called it the "first annual" Saugatuck pop concert. He said "the image created certainly isn't what we're striving for." Justice of the Peace Erwin F. Kasten, Sr. reported that the holiday weekend was busy in court but quieter than last year's holidays. On July 3 and 4 in his court, 32 persons paid fines, 13 posted bond for a court appearance later, and 37 were sent to jail in Allegan, either on a sentence or because they were unable to post bond. Most of the violations involved persons having liquor in their possession or consuming it, he said. No fights were taken to him. Kasten said he received no complaints from activities at the pop concert, though some State Police complaints have not yet been received. The hippies apparently were no trouble, he said, "just thedrinking people." Business in Saugatuck was reported good, though some restaurant people said hippies would order just coffee and then eat homemade sandwiches. James Christenson said thedrug store business was good. Tom Johnson said the Coral Gables had the best weekend in nine years.