1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:18,440 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:22,119 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 5 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:39,120 Speaker 1: Alcatraz is a strange, one of a kind piece of 7 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:42,760 Speaker 1: American culture. A large island off the coast of San Francisco. 8 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:46,479 Speaker 1: It's infamous for its decades as a federal prison. The 9 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:49,839 Speaker 1: legend of Alcatraz has spawned dozens of books, films, and 10 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:54,440 Speaker 1: TV shows, usually about prisoners escaping, But in nineteen sixty nine, 11 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:57,760 Speaker 1: a large group of activists did something rather curious there. 12 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:01,560 Speaker 1: They didn't want to escape Alcatraz. They weren't even prisoners. Instead, 13 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:05,399 Speaker 1: they wanted to force their way inside. Richard Oakes was 14 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 1: a member of the Aquazaus name Mohawk tribe and also 15 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:11,640 Speaker 1: a student at San Francisco State University. He formed a 16 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:15,160 Speaker 1: student organization with members of other Native American tribes from 17 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:20,000 Speaker 1: other Southern California universities, calling themselves the Indians of All 18 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:23,280 Speaker 1: Tribes Now Keep in mind that while Native American is 19 00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 1: the more accurate term for Indigenous Americans, many tribal members 20 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:30,400 Speaker 1: today still identify with the term Indian as they did 21 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:32,360 Speaker 1: during the events that I'm about to share with you, 22 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:36,120 Speaker 1: so you'll hear me use both terms depending on the context. 23 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:39,920 Speaker 1: The Indians of All Tribes were dismayed at a wide 24 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: array of legislation that had been passed across the United 25 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:46,120 Speaker 1: States over the previous few decades. Known collectively as the 26 00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 1: Indian Termination Policy, it was an agenda aimed at ending 27 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:54,200 Speaker 1: the sovereignty of many Native American tribes. Simply puts, instead 28 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 1: of having their own land and governments and being subject 29 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: to only federal law, the Native Americans were being formed 30 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:04,240 Speaker 1: to disband their tribes and integrate into mainstream American society. 31 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:07,920 Speaker 1: Richard Oakes and his Indians of All Tribes came up 32 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:10,760 Speaker 1: with a plan to fight back. While at the universities 33 00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 1: they study the history and treaties between the Native Americans 34 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:17,400 Speaker 1: and the US government. In southern California, they found a 35 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:21,400 Speaker 1: nineteenth century treaty that claimed unused federal land was supposed 36 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:25,120 Speaker 1: to be returned to the Native Americans, and as it happened, 37 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:27,960 Speaker 1: Alcatraz had been sitting empty for a few years, and 38 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:30,400 Speaker 1: the government had yet to decide what to do with it, 39 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:33,600 Speaker 1: and so, in a mission to force the US government 40 00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:36,840 Speaker 1: to actually honor a treaty for once, eighty nine members 41 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:39,359 Speaker 1: of the Indians of all tribes chartered a bote from 42 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:43,040 Speaker 1: San Francisco to Alcatraz. Once there, they declared the island 43 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:45,840 Speaker 1: native land, saying that they were buying it from President 44 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:48,680 Speaker 1: Nixon for twenty four dollars, the same price that early 45 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:52,720 Speaker 1: European settlers paid for the island of Manhattan. The people 46 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:56,280 Speaker 1: of San Francisco were immediately supportive of their cause. They 47 00:02:56,280 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 1: had seen in the news how many tribes were being 48 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:02,120 Speaker 1: forced to give up their lands. Soon, shipments of food, water, 49 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:05,400 Speaker 1: and other supplies were sent to the occupying Native Americans 50 00:03:05,639 --> 00:03:09,320 Speaker 1: on Alcatraz. Richard led them in forming their own governments, 51 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:13,040 Speaker 1: where everyone had to vote unanimously on each decision. They 52 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:16,560 Speaker 1: soon assigned themselves to different roles too. There were teachers, 53 00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:21,120 Speaker 1: security guards, cooks, janitors, and more. Everyone did their part. 54 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:24,000 Speaker 1: They wanted the deed to the island, and they made 55 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:26,840 Speaker 1: their intentions clear that they wanted to establish a safe 56 00:03:26,880 --> 00:03:30,360 Speaker 1: place for Native Americans. But the US government was not 57 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:33,160 Speaker 1: willing to negotiate with them, and they largely left the 58 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:36,640 Speaker 1: Indians of all tribes alone. But as nineteen sixty nine 59 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:40,320 Speaker 1: turned into nineteen seventy, problems started to mount for the occupiers. 60 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:43,520 Speaker 1: Richard Oakes suffered a tragedy when his twelve year old 61 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:46,200 Speaker 1: child fell down a metal staircase on the island and 62 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:50,240 Speaker 1: passed away. Richard then left the island, causing infighting as 63 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:53,120 Speaker 1: to who would replace him as a leader. Non Indian 64 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:56,200 Speaker 1: hippies also arrived on the island around this time and 65 00:03:56,360 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: started to openly use drugs, which undermined the mission of 66 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:03,119 Speaker 1: the occupiers, and as the months rolled on, the US 67 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:06,480 Speaker 1: government became less patient with the occupiers and cut off 68 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:09,720 Speaker 1: power to the island. They also stopped shipments of water 69 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:13,040 Speaker 1: from the mainland, and it was almost too coincidental when 70 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:16,040 Speaker 1: a few days later a fire broke out on Alcatraz. 71 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:18,680 Speaker 1: The occupiers were able to put it out, but only 72 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:21,600 Speaker 1: after several buildings were destroyed. They felt that they had 73 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:25,159 Speaker 1: been the victims of sabotage by the US government. In 74 00:04:25,279 --> 00:04:28,880 Speaker 1: January of nineteen seventy one, an unrelated ship collision in 75 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 1: the bay gave the government another excuse to want to 76 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:34,919 Speaker 1: remove the occupiers. It seems they didn't like not having 77 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:38,200 Speaker 1: access to the island during these kinds of emergencies, and 78 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:41,040 Speaker 1: so by June of that year, President Nixon reversed course 79 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:44,919 Speaker 1: on his previous policy and sent troops to retake Alcatraz. 80 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:49,159 Speaker 1: By that point, there were only fifteen occupiers left, and 81 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:52,320 Speaker 1: they were removed without incident. The occupation ended on a 82 00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:55,839 Speaker 1: down note, but its efforts were felt nationwide. President Nixon 83 00:04:55,880 --> 00:04:58,680 Speaker 1: gave a speech in full support of Native American sovereignty, 84 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:02,560 Speaker 1: and soon many tribes, names and lands were restored. It 85 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:05,120 Speaker 1: was a curious reversal, but by showing that they were 86 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:07,640 Speaker 1: willing to fight for what was right, the Indians of 87 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:11,240 Speaker 1: all tribes had finally forced the US government to honor 88 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:27,240 Speaker 1: its word. If you are, like me, a fan of 89 00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:29,359 Speaker 1: Ben and Jerry's ice cream, you might have heard of 90 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:33,359 Speaker 1: the flavor Cherry Garcia. It's named, of course, for Jerry Garcia, 91 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:36,240 Speaker 1: the lead singer and guitarist of legendary jam band The 92 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:40,080 Speaker 1: Grateful Dead. Cherry Garcia is the company's second most popular 93 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:43,160 Speaker 1: flavor that has been a bestseller since it debuted in 94 00:05:43,240 --> 00:05:46,440 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty seven. But while it's a smash hit. It's 95 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:48,920 Speaker 1: not the first time that Jerry Garcia's name has been 96 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:51,800 Speaker 1: used to pedal dairy treats. More than fifty years ago, 97 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:54,320 Speaker 1: he lent his star power to a very different kind 98 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:58,159 Speaker 1: of product. It started in August of nineteen seventy two 99 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:01,200 Speaker 1: when Chuck and Sukeise had a huge problem. They were 100 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:04,920 Speaker 1: the owners of Springfield Creamery in Springfield, Oregon. They had 101 00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:07,560 Speaker 1: been growing their business for ten years, but had suffered 102 00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:10,839 Speaker 1: some financial setbacks, and now they were sidled with so 103 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:13,680 Speaker 1: much debt that the creamery was in threats of closing. 104 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:17,080 Speaker 1: Chuck couldn't let that happen. This was his family's only 105 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:20,360 Speaker 1: source of income and they had two kids to support. Besides, 106 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:23,400 Speaker 1: he knew that the Springfield Creamery could be a success. 107 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:26,799 Speaker 1: Chuck actually grew up in the dairy business. His dad 108 00:06:26,839 --> 00:06:30,000 Speaker 1: was the manager at Eugene Dairy Farm in Eugene, Oregon, 109 00:06:30,240 --> 00:06:32,279 Speaker 1: and got him a job there all through high school. 110 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:36,080 Speaker 1: In college, he studied dairy science at Oregon State University, 111 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:39,160 Speaker 1: which is also where he met Sue, his future wife. 112 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:41,800 Speaker 1: After college, Chuck and Sue moved back to Eugene to 113 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:43,960 Speaker 1: start their life together, and they soon learned of an 114 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:47,800 Speaker 1: incredible opportunity. There was a small defunct creamery in the 115 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:50,240 Speaker 1: next town over and it was available for lease for 116 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:53,200 Speaker 1: just one hundred and fifty dollars a month. They jumped 117 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:55,320 Speaker 1: on the deal and a few weeks later they opened 118 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:58,440 Speaker 1: the Springfield Creamery. For the next decade, they made a 119 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:02,320 Speaker 1: living hand delivering milk to stores, schools, and residential homes. 120 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:05,440 Speaker 1: But over the years their sales went up and also down, 121 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:08,240 Speaker 1: and Chuck knew that the dairy industry was changing and 122 00:07:08,320 --> 00:07:10,840 Speaker 1: if his business was going to survive, it would need 123 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:13,760 Speaker 1: to adapt. And that's when he got an idea. You see, 124 00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:17,040 Speaker 1: back in college, he had studied live probiotics known to 125 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:21,280 Speaker 1: support gut health, improved digestion, and bolster immune systems, and 126 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:25,000 Speaker 1: he wanted to try and infuse these probiotics into a delicious, 127 00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:29,360 Speaker 1: tangy yogurt and eventually transitioned Springfield Creamery from a milk 128 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:32,960 Speaker 1: supplier to a yogurt company. Chuck didn't know how to 129 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:36,960 Speaker 1: make yogurt, but the creamery's bookkeeper, Nancy did so Chuck 130 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:39,080 Speaker 1: and Nancy got to work and by the spring of 131 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:42,000 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy two, they had created a batch of probiotic 132 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:44,520 Speaker 1: yogurt and sold it at a local co op, and 133 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:47,560 Speaker 1: the customers loved it, and soon the co op called 134 00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:51,200 Speaker 1: to order more of Nancy's Yogurt. Chuck laughed and decided 135 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:53,360 Speaker 1: that he liked the name, and so the brand Nancy's 136 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:56,760 Speaker 1: Yogurt was born. Unfortunately, it seemed like the new product 137 00:07:56,840 --> 00:07:59,760 Speaker 1: was too little, too late. By this point, Springfield Creamery 138 00:07:59,920 --> 00:08:02,960 Speaker 1: was just drowning in debt. They would likely be forced 139 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:05,440 Speaker 1: to close their doors before nancy Yogurt had a chance 140 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:08,840 Speaker 1: to catch on, so they needed cash fast, and Chuck 141 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:12,520 Speaker 1: knew exactly who to call, his brother, Ken Keasey. For 142 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:14,680 Speaker 1: the past ten years, while Chuck and Sue were building 143 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:17,440 Speaker 1: their career, Ken had been in the Bay Area publishing 144 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:20,280 Speaker 1: his best selling novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, 145 00:08:20,640 --> 00:08:23,000 Speaker 1: and he'd also been hosting a series of parties called 146 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:26,360 Speaker 1: the Acid Tests. Several hundred hippies would show up at 147 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:29,800 Speaker 1: his house, listen to live music, and take psychedelic drugs. 148 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:33,840 Speaker 1: This was before LSD was illegal in California, and it 149 00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:35,920 Speaker 1: was in this scene that a local band showed up 150 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:39,280 Speaker 1: to the first Acid Test party. They called themselves the Warlocks, 151 00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:41,560 Speaker 1: and they hit it off with Ken right away, so 152 00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:44,160 Speaker 1: much so that Ken invited them to headline the next 153 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:46,920 Speaker 1: Acid test a week later. The band agreed, although by 154 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:50,040 Speaker 1: the following Saturday they had changed their name from the Warlocks. 155 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:53,199 Speaker 1: They became the Grateful Dead, and soon the Grateful Debt 156 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:56,680 Speaker 1: amassed a following of loyal fans called Deadheads. Whenever the 157 00:08:56,679 --> 00:08:59,480 Speaker 1: band went on tour, thousands of dead Heads would follow. 158 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:02,480 Speaker 1: But even as they rose to fame, Ken Kesey and 159 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:05,240 Speaker 1: the band stayed close. Ken and Chuck would even go 160 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:08,040 Speaker 1: to concerts together and hang out with the Dead after 161 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:10,719 Speaker 1: the show. And now, all these years later, here was 162 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:13,200 Speaker 1: Chuck in a bind, and he wondered if the Dead 163 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:16,560 Speaker 1: would be willing to keep his business alive. So he 164 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:19,280 Speaker 1: called to Ken and explained his idea, and then he 165 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:22,200 Speaker 1: and Ken approached the band with a request. He asked 166 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:25,120 Speaker 1: if they would play a benefit show for Springfield Creamery, 167 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:29,160 Speaker 1: and to Chuck's surprise, the Grateful Dead agreed, and so 168 00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:32,600 Speaker 1: Chuck and Sue got busy hand drawing posters to advertise 169 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:35,520 Speaker 1: the show. They rented a field in Venita, Oregon, outside 170 00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:39,199 Speaker 1: of Springfield, and they turned Nancy's yogurt labels into concert 171 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:43,400 Speaker 1: tickets and they charged three dollars ahead. Twenty seven days later, 172 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:46,400 Speaker 1: more than twenty thousand dead heads swarmed the open lawn. 173 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:48,800 Speaker 1: It was over one hundred degrees that day, but the 174 00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:52,240 Speaker 1: grateful dead still played a three hour concert. They raised 175 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:56,040 Speaker 1: more than fifteen thousand dollars for the Springfield Creamery, equivalent 176 00:09:56,040 --> 00:09:59,360 Speaker 1: to about one hundred and fifteen thousand dollars today. It 177 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:01,160 Speaker 1: was more than an enough for Chuck and Sue to 178 00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:04,480 Speaker 1: pay off their debt and keep the creamery afloat. Soon, 179 00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:08,920 Speaker 1: Nancy's yogurt took off and began selling in stores nationwide. Today, 180 00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:11,320 Speaker 1: the company is a leader in the dairy industry, with 181 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:15,600 Speaker 1: annual sales exceeding twenty million dollars. If you ask them, 182 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:17,559 Speaker 1: the Keasy family will be the first to tell you 183 00:10:17,640 --> 00:10:19,760 Speaker 1: that none of this would have been possible without the 184 00:10:19,840 --> 00:10:24,000 Speaker 1: help from the dead, and for that they are forever grateful. 185 00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:30,079 Speaker 1: I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet 186 00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:34,040 Speaker 1: of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn 187 00:10:34,080 --> 00:10:38,520 Speaker 1: more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. 188 00:10:38,679 --> 00:10:42,240 Speaker 1: The show was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership 189 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:45,600 Speaker 1: with how Stuff Works. I make another award winning show 190 00:10:45,679 --> 00:10:49,480 Speaker 1: called Lore which is a podcast, book series, and television 191 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:51,719 Speaker 1: show and you can learn all about it over at 192 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:58,600 Speaker 1: the Worldoflore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.