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Duke Devlin stuck out his thumb in Texas. He hitched his way into history as the symbol of Woodstock.
That's why the History Channel came to Sullivan County yesterday – to film Devlin for a show about the 1969 festival.
"Everyone knows Duke is Woodstock," says the show's producer, Simonette Rossi.
They should.
Devlin and his chest-length hair and beard have been featured in publications like Time Magazine and TV shows like "Good Morning America."
Yasgur 69 license plates bookend his Ford pickup.
A peace sign made from Christmas lights hangs outside his Jeffersonville home.
Funny thing is, Devlin didn't set out to come to the world's most famous rock festival. Now he can't imagine life without it.
Sure, Duke Devlin was a long-haired, bearded hippie-type in 1969. He lived on a Texas commune where he was in charge of farming.
In August 1969, a commune buddy wanted to visit his girlfriend in New Hope, Pa. So he asked Devlin along for the ride.
"Just make it quick," Devlin told his pal.
Devlin packed a toothbrush, underwear and socks in a duffel bag and stuck out his thumb. Once he got to New Hope, he couldn't wait to get back to Texas – until he heard about this three-day festival on a farm in Bethel with acts like Janis Joplin, the Who and Jimi Hendrix.
So he again stuck out his thumb. He squeezed his big body in the back seat of a Volkswagen and ended up on Route 17B.
He never left Sullivan County. First, he pitched a tent in the woods across from the festival site. Then he milked cows on a neighboring dairy farm.
He met his wife, Patty, and raised his daughter in Sullivan. He started Duke's Farm Market near a stream in Jeffersonville. He plants flowers around the town clock. He donates to organizations such as WJFF-FM public radio and the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance.
And he's friends with long-time Sullivan folks like the Vassmers of Kauneonga Lake.
"He's like family," says Marion Vassmer.
Today, 58-year-old Duke Devlin has more gray than brown in his beard. He's the grandfather of a little girl who goes to school in Sullivan County. When you ask what Woodstock gave him, he doesn't point to publicity like the History Channel show, which airs in 2002.
"Woodstock introduced me to Sullivan County," he says simply. "It's my home."
