Arlo, Alice, and Anglicans

by Laura Lee

Lee tells the story of Arlo and of the church belonging to Alice and Ray Brock. Freelance writer and former radio announcer Lee explores the history of Trinity Church in western Massachusetts, saying that "few churches... have had so many distinct and fascinating rebirths." Indeed, Trinity reflects many of America's transformations in in the Gilded Age, it was a posh branch church of an Episcopalian parish. After it fell on hard times in the mid-20th century, it was deconsecrated and purchased by a "hippie" couple named Alice and Ray Brock in the early 1960s. They converted it into a home and a haven for countercultural youth. It was there, on Thanksgiving 1965, that musician Arlo Guthrie offered to take out the garbage from the meal and threw it down a local hill. His arrest for littering, and subsequent night in jail, resulted in the famous 18-minute song-cum-manifesto called "Alice's Restaurant" and a 1969 movie by the same name.

240 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2000

About the author

Laura Lee is the author of 22 books. In addition to a large catalog of humorous reference titles such as The Pocket Encyclopedia of Aggravation and Don't Screw It Up, she has written one children's book, A Child's Introduction to Ballet, two novels, Angel and Identity Theft, and Oscar's Ghost, which deals with conflicts between members of Oscar Wilde's circle over his legacy after the playwright's death and Wilde Nights & Robber Barons, the story of a member of Wilde's circle who went on to be part of an international band of confidence tricksters who used false titles of nobility.

The San Francisco Chronicle has said of her work: "Lee's dry, humorous tone makes her a charming companion... She has a penchant for wordplay that is irresistible."

Lee brings to her writing a unique background which includes work as a professional mime, improvisational comic, and radio announcer. After a three-year stint as a part-time touring public relations director for a Russian ballet company, Lee has returned to her native
Michigan where she divides her time between writing and producing ballet educational tours with her partner a Russian ballet dancer and director.

Reviews

[Scott Benowitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

All fans of Arlo Guthrie are quite familiar with the fact that he had a friend whose first name was Alice, back in the mid 1960's Alice had owned a restaurant which was located in Stockbridge, Mass., and a series of events which had occurred in November of 1965 inspired one of Arlo Guthrie's most famous songs, which became the title of his first album as well as a full length movie in 1969.
The "Alice" who owned the restaurant in the song from. 1967 as well as in the movie from 1969 is Alice M. Brock, she'd actually owned three restaurants in western Mass. at different times during the second half of the 1960's and the 1970's, and she is in fact alive and well today in 2023.
This book fills in a lot of the details about the stories about some of the events that Arlo Guthrie, Alice Brock and their friends had experienced when they'd been living in the Berkshires region of Massachusetts back in the 1960's.
note: I was born in the 1970's and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. You don't need to have personally witnessed the events of the 1960's to appreciate this book, you only need to enjoy reading interesting stories about interesting people who have interesting viewpoints about the world which we're all living in.

[Bob Laubach · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is an enjoyable informative history of a small chapel that grew into its own church and congregation. The small congregation grew smaller until it was deconsecrated and the building sold to successive owners. When Ray and Alice Brock owned it to work on their own art, they also taught art at a local school where Arlo Guthrie and friends were students who hung around at the old church with Alice and Ray, playing music and sharing meals Alice made. Then that fateful Thanksgiving happened when Arlo and a friend took garbage out to make room for Thanksgiving dinner guests. Much later Arlo bought the building and after reconsecration by Arlo’s guru, it’s now The Guthrie Center where anyone can stop by and “bring your own God.” This is a story of the life of a little building that became a big song and story and its spiritual life that lives on.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely concept but seemed a chaotic and unorganized jumble at times.

[Bill Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading the history of Trinity Church in Van Deusenville, MA even though I've never gone to services there, never saw the movie "Alice's Restaurant," didn't know the song was 18 minutes long and only once have seen Arlo Guthrie perform live. Trinity has an interesting, sometimes staid, sometimes not, history. From it's start as a place of worship for the Anglicans (and Dutch Reform, if I remember correctly), to a home for Alice, Arlo and many others, who came there to live, worship and meditate, Trinity is a reflection of American history. It's a more personal American history than what one often reads or hears. This is history of a more ordinary sort where people build a community live in it, die in it and then another group of more or less ordinary people start all over again with a different kind of community.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read for anyone who enjoyed Alice's Restaurant and cares about Arlo.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know much of anything about Arlo Guthrie before reading this book so it was very interesting. Great writing!