“Alice’s Restaurant — a Thanksgiving story” will be the subject of the Tuesday, Nov. 25 meeting of the Lynnfield Historical Society. Local historian and long-time member of the Society Alan Foulds will be the guest speaker.
In 1967 singer Arlo Guthrie released “Alice’s Restaurant,” a lengthy deadpan protest song against the Vietnam War. The lyrics describe a comic incident from Arlo’s life when he visits his friends, restaurant owner Alice Brock and her husband Ray, who live in a deconsecrated church in Great Barrington. After enjoying a delicious Thanksgiving meal, Arlo and a buddy illegally dump trash from the church nearby. The event leads to their arrest and conviction. Ironically, this episode endangers their “suitability” for the dreaded military draft. The song “Alice’s Restaurant” was a tremendous hit, followed by a film of the same name in which Arlo played the leading part.
In 1991, Arlo purchased the old Trinity Church where Alice and her husband had lived in the ’60s. It became the Guthrie Center: an interfaith church dedicated to the memory of his parents Woody and Marjorie Guthrie. The couple was committed to finding a cure for Huntington’s Disease: a neurodegenerative disorder from which Arlo’s father, folk singer Woody Guthrie, suffered. The Center became a mecca for musical performances, along with support for cultural preservation and educational achievement. The Guthrie Center holds a free Thanksgiving dinner each year for those in need, in the true spirit of “Alice’s Restaurant.”
Speaker Foulds hosts the podcast called “It’s also history,” and is a Fellow at the Massachusetts Historical Society. Parking is available at the rear of the Church on Main Street. Refreshments will be served and all are welcome.
Where: Centre Congregational Church, 5 Summer St.
When: Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 7 p.m.
There is free admission, free parking, and a free raffle.
