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There’s a quiet little street at the south end of Menlo Park near Sand Hill Road by the Stanford Golf Course, where legendary Tiger Woods cut his golfing teeth.
The name of the street is Perry Avenue. It may not ring your bell terribly loud; however, what took place on this street helped launch a social change that swept the entire world, the effects of which remain with us today.
In the fifties and early sixties, the general area was known as the “Bohemian Quarter.” Residents were beatniks, writers, musicians, and others exploring the far edges of social norms.
One such resident who enrolled in Stanford’s creative writing school in 1958 was Ken Elton Kesey. His book One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, published in 1962, afforded him instant fame. It was written while he was employed in the psychiatric ward at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Menlo Park.
Among other things, his novel recounted experiences he had while being paid $75 a session to take place in an experimental program that included the use of the psychedelic drug Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly called LSD.
While living on Perry Avenue, folks would gather for parties that lasted hours and hours. Said events included future Grateful Dead members (known at the time as the Warlocks) Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh.
Kesey became somewhat restless and wanted to share his psychedelic mindset and experiences with the world. So he started gathering friends with similar views and lifestyle, calling them the Merry Pranksters.
However, that was just the beginning of his adventures.
In 1964, he needed to be in New York for the publication party of his novel “Sometimes a Great Notion.” He wanted to travel across the country with all of his “Merry Prankster” friends. However, it became clear his station wagon would not accommodate the entire gang.
He decided to purchase a 1939 International Harvester school bus for the ‘pranksters’ to travel in. He also created his own wild exterior and interior design, complete with exotic items.
The interior was outfitted with bunks, a bathroom, a refrigerator and a stove.
A wooden sign with the carved word “Furthur” adorned the top, where passenger buses normally had the destination sign. (It has also been spelled “Further”)
On June 14, 1964, Kesey and his Merry Pranksters left La Honda for the Big Apple. The trip included numerous stops along the highways and byways, and they finally arrived on June 29.
Once there, they hooked up with fellow “tripper” Timothy Leary and others, including Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginzburg.
They returned to La Honda in August and began throwing parties called “Acid Tests,” where the punch was spiked with LSD, which was legal until October of 1966.
The social impact of Kesey’s cross country bus adventures had a broad cultural impact. For example, films by the Beatles (Magical Mystery Tour) and Muppets (Electric MaHem Bus) subsequently used wildly painted buses.
A local resident and personal friend, Darrell Howser, purchased a school bus and decorated it both inside and out. He entered it in the Redwood City Fourth of July parade. Yours truly, along with several others, sat atop it. What fun and a great memory!
Eventually, Kesey purchased a second bus, also named “Further.”
Over the years, stories about the original and second bus circulated. Some even said it was donated to the Smithsonian Museum. I’m not sure if that is accurate, though.
A more plausible explanation about the original bus is it sits at Kesey’s Oregon farm.
Kesey passed away in 2001. His legacy remains among the most enduring and colorful of the counter-culture generation.
Everything else is just history
