Going Up the Country: When the Hippies, Dreamers, Freaks, and Radicals Moved to Vermont

by Yvonne Daley

Going Up the Country is part oral history, part nostalgia-tinged narrative, and part clear-eyed analysis of the multifaceted phenomena collectively referred to as the counterculture movement in Vermont. This is the story of how young migrants, largely from the cities and suburbs of New York and Massachusetts, turned their backs on the establishment of the 1950s and moved to the backwoods of rural Vermont, spawning a revolution in lifestyle, politics, sexuality, and business practices that would have a profound impact on both the state and the nation. The movement brought hippies, back-to-the-landers, political radicals, sexual libertines, and utopians to a previously conservative state and led us to today’s farm to table way of life, environmental consciousness, and progressive politics as championed by Bernie Sanders.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, American History, Politics

296 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 5, 2018

About the author

Yvonne Daly is a professor of journalism and Director of the Green Mountain Writer’s Conference.

Reviews

[Stephen Kiernan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quiet corner of America was forever changed when the counterculture moved to Vermont in the late '60s and early '70s. This book tells the tale of the people who came, the difference they made, and how the people who were already here influenced them as well. The landscape is an important character too, from the beauty that newcomers experienced to the frigid winters that they needed locals to teach them to endure.
Among the surprises: The number of businesses and institutions that the hippies founded which Vermont relies upon today. The easy fit between groovy independence and Vermont's historically individualist culture, from food to fashion to governance by town meeting. The disappointment that many kids of the counterculture felt, when groovy dads in search of new adventures left them behind for mom to raise alone.
This book contains almost no prurience or gratuitousness about the sex and drugs of Vermont commune life, nor does it shy from the creepy guys who sometimes preyed on the idealists. Instead its a clear-eyed result of 300 interviews of the people who lived it, what they learned, and where they stand today.
Plenty of people have lamented that the old Vermont is vanishing, that the farm accent is heard in fewer places, that the suburbs creep ever further into the hills. It's more than half-true, but I would add another element that seems less visible today: the idealism, joy and freedom of a strong hippie culture. Maybe the complexity of the world today, and the challenge of making a living and supporting a family, leaves little room for tie dye and street art. But these things were part of the culture of Vermont, for half a century anyway, and as this book demonstrates, they led to creativity and discovery and community. Maybe the ideas and dreams of America's youth were not all so silly after all.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're curious about Vermont's history in the last 50 years, this book is a must. I really enjoyed it and learned a lot.

[Isabella · Rating 1 out of 5]

A piece of badly written, bigoted nonsense.

[Bookgeek · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is not so much a history of the hippy communes in Vermont but more of a timeline for how idealists changed the communities around them. This generation of hippies changed healthcare, education, the perception of gender roles, raised awareness of the importance of art and music in communities, essentially creating the progressive state that Vermont is today. Most importantly for completely rootless me now living in Vermont, they didn’t always make these changes through fighting, they were steadfast in what they believed in but embraced the hard work and simpler way of doing things that showed lifetime Vermonters that they weren’t out to destroy all the good things that made Vermont great. For however long they stayed these “hippies, dreamers, freaks and radicals” made a difference and helped create civil discourse in the State of Vermont. The author also has a chapter by chapter playlist of music to listen to while she wrote and while you read. It’s fantastic!

[Travis Rosenbluth · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look into Vermont during a type of historical event that we may not see again for some time. Even more interesting is the fact that there is an undercurrent of a counterculture brewing and may reemerge again. So to see how a wave of newcomers can change a states society and culture overtime as well as be tamed by the original culture they found there was worth the read.

That said, the common theme throughout the book is the counterculture ideology and how it effects Vermont, which should be obvious. Though since that ideology is generally shared throughout all the characters and chapters I found myself just copying and pasting the same reasons and results and overall understood the gist of each chapter without diving too deep into them. Which made the book rather repetitive and predictable from chapter to chapter.

Still worth the read as it is a really awesome glimpse into a period of social change that I am sure many of us would like to see happen again.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a ten year span of time, 1964-1974, thousands of young people moved to Vermont. The locals panicked and the Governor had to hold a press conference to calm their fears. Over that period of time and throughout the 1980's the positive changes to the state were significant. Politics, food, social networks, etc. In such a small state it only requires a few people to create enormous change. The book also spoke of the kindness of the locals who ultimately assisted the newcomers by instructing them on how to build, plant and live in Vermont's climate.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having moved to Vermont in the late 1960's for college at UVM and have returned twice to work and now retire here, there was much of Daley's book that resonates. She has done a great job of identifying a wide array of stories and trends. I am reminded of the many ways that Vermont remains important to my family and me. A wonderfully well written book that I highly recommend to anyone curious about this place and that time and how Vermont came to be the way that it is.

[Lucinda Mccloud · Rating 4 out of 5]

I moved to Vermont in 1974 and I’m still here. I thought I already knew most of what this book would contain. But I was wrong, there was so much I didn’t know. A remarkable book. So interesting to read about so many people I know. Very true descriptions of those I know. And even better to read about people I’d heard about, but didn’t know. This book is a magnificent history of this era, of which I was a part!

[Angela Rudd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the guided journey Ms Daley provided. I found myself reading passage after passage out loud to my husband, hoping to share some of the excitement I was getting from the book. I recently lived in Vermont for a handful of years, and had the pleasure of attending a reading of this book in Bennington by the author. I highly recommend this book, and have already recommended to my Vermont friends.

[Kathryn Holzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

An informative, fascinating read documenting how the influx of young people to Vermont in the 1960s changed both the state and the newcomers. Using many of the stories she has culled from dozens of interviews, Daley explores this impact, creating both a vivid picture of the times and a love letter to the State.

Highly recommended.

[Maria Mangano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I'm biased. I lived in Vermont in the late 60s and early 70s, the very time period covered by this book, and I thoroughly enjoyed the stories of those ho came to Vermont during this time period and changed not only the state, but larger American culture.

[M Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! As a seventh generation Vermonter who has lived in many of the towns of which Yvonne speaks. I felt a certain kinship. Vermont is an amazing place. Her people are amazing too! Yvonne provides very thoughtful and heartfelt insight.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am new to Vermont and this book helped me understand how the state became so progressive. It also helped me to understand that the hippies were actually a small group of people that were way more industrious than I realized.

[Victoria Mayo · Rating 4 out of 5]

FINALLY 💚 I’ve been reading this book on and off for damn near 4 years. Sometimes slow but always interesting, and I’ll never get tired of hearing about Vermont. If you love the state like I do you will enjoy the journey

[Noah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating stuff.... if I ever get serious about not getting serious.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprised me to see myself on page 86

[Norma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting history of how VT went from Red to Blue and how it couldn't have happened without the locals help and encouragement.

[Lucy Wightman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book to fact check some of the things I remembered while living in a Vermont "commune" that was really a shared house. Yvonne Daley was someone I knew when I lived in Brandon.