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Snaps from the Past: In the summer of ’69…



POSTED BY RON JAFFE TO “HISTORIC ORLANDO II” FACEBOOK GROUP

POSTED BY RON JAFFE TO “HISTORIC ORLANDO II” FACEBOOK GROUP

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings’ book “Cross Creek” described nostalgia as a “spiritual homelessness,” a longing for the “mystic loveliness of childhood.” I totally relate to this feeling.

I spent the better part of July experiencing that strong sense of nostalgia. It returned me again and again to the summer of ’69, brought to mind by the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 10 moon landing on July 20, 1969. I clearly recall our family gathering late at night, well past our bedtime, in front of the television. My father waited at the ready with his Polaroid camera to take a picture of the TV screen as Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon.

(Remarkably there were no pictures being sent back to Earth other than via the television. Even The New York Times used a picture taken of the television screen for the front page of the newspaper.)

We were witness to human history, and its epic nature was not lost on any of us.

Who doesn’t remember “one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind” — Neil Armstrong’s words that for a moment brought all of humanity together in a time in our history marked by war and tremendous social, political and cultural upheaval?

POSTED BY TRACY THOMPSON TO “GROWING UP IN ORLANDO BEFORE DISNEY” FACEBOOK GROUP

POSTED BY TRACY THOMPSON TO “GROWING UP IN ORLANDO BEFORE DISNEY” FACEBOOK GROUP

In 1969 — the birth year for “Sesame Street,” the seeming death year of “Star Trek” and the last year the Beatles stayed together — America was anything but at peace with herself: the Stonewall Riots in New York City, Ted Kennedy and Chappaquiddick, and the Manson murders. President Nixon announced the withdrawal of troops from Vietnam, and John Lennon and Yoko Ono staged “bed-ins” abroad to protest the Vietnam War and promote global peace.

To top that summer off, August brought us three days of Woodstock, the epitome of rock ’n’ roll nirvana with peace, love and hippies.

Even in College Park, the hippy era arrived right on the southwest corner of Edgewater Drive and Princeton Street when the infamous Infinite Mushroom first opened its magical doors.

POSTED BY KAREN ECKOFF TO “GROWING UP IN ORLANDO BEFORE DISNEY” FACEBOOK GROUP

POSTED BY KAREN ECKOFF TO “GROWING UP IN ORLANDO BEFORE DISNEY” FACEBOOK GROUP

To walk into the Infinite Mushroom when you were in junior high was like walking into the pages of Life magazine with its images of people in bell-bottoms and halter tops. It was a counterculture oasis, where parting the bead curtains led to an entire room with walls covered in posters lit by black light and lava lamps. Incense, Day-Glo paints and some less savory paraphernalia could all be purchased in this coolest of cool places.

Founded by Grace Lindbloom, a savvy businesswoman devoted to the fine arts, the Infinite Mushroom was Orlando’s first hippy store. Lindbloom owned an interior design and home goods boutique and began noticing her customers were buying more incense and candles. Not only that, but she was selling more of these than anything else in her store. She decided to concentrate on this new customer base and bring them what they wanted.

It wasn’t Lindbloom who came up with the store’s catchy name. She ran a contest, and Ian Bailey, a seventh-grade, 12-year-old boy, came up with the name Infinite Mushroom. He won a $50 gift certificate and eternal bragging rights.

Lindbloom moved the store to the Colonial Plaza a couple of years later and in 1980 sold it to Nancy Noyes, who kept it open until 2004.

Just thinking about the Infinite Mushroom, the smell of incense wafts through my memory. And yes, I sure can long for the mystical loveliness of childhood in the age of Aquarius. Those were, as Bryan Adams sang, “the best days of my life.”

One response to “Snaps from the Past: In the summer of ’69…”

  1. Susan Titour says:

    Hippie is spelled with an “ie”. Hippy is someone with a big butt.

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