Burning Rainbow Farm

Has anyone read this book yet?

 

all alledged hippies should read this sad account.
Incidentally drumminmama, I purchased my copy at strandbooks.com. It's half-price there.
check out this website for the story of what went down at Rainbow Farm... http://rainbowfarmcamp.com/
This incident was quickly overshadowed by 9/11...but we should never forget.

 

Very sad story, indeed. Here in Europe I didn't hear of it when it happened... Here in Switzerland it's also anti-hemp at the moment but fortunately not as bad (here nobody got killed because of hemp).. They made razzias in head shops and in hemp farms and put the owners in jail. Swiss weed was very good, but this times are over

 

what are razzias?

 

I don't know if this word really exists in english.. I'll have to look it up..

Well, that's what they did: The police went into the head shop (with dogs etc.) and looked if they could find some hemp with THC. If they could find some, they took it away, destroyed it (or smoked it ) and arrested the owner of the shop. They put the owners in prison and closed the shops.

 

it sounds like what we would call a raid...thanks for the info!

 

This is an amazing book!! It is the true story of how the FBI, shot down 2 marijuana activists, after taking a way their child, and destroying their lives. These men were freedom loving hippies, That just wanted to get the word out about marijuana legalization, and the need for it.

I used to spend alot of time at rainbow farm, i went to the festivals, and in between festivals, I would go their just to relax, smoke pot, be around like minded people, and be free to be myself. Rainbow Farm was a beautiful place, with wonderful people, and Tom and Rollie did not deserve to die for their beliefs.

Everyone who is a pot smoker needs to read this book!!!
HIGHLY RECOMENDED!!

 

wow Juggalette, you came to Rainbow Farm all the way from CA? I am a local and went there several times...I also went to Toms funeral & The tribute to them. This act has been so swept under the rug & needs to become more recognized. So many fine "hippies" are totally unaware that this has even happened...

 

Yes, I used to go there all the time, at the time, I lived in south bend. I loved that place so much, and when the tragedies happened there, it was simply devastating for everyone. Once 9/11 happened the world was consumed with that, so all of the media was busy with the new big story, and Rainbow Farm was forgotton to most. But to those of us that knew Tom and Rollie, that memory will always be there. I ccried for hours after reading burning Rainbow farm. I was at Tom's funeral also, do you remember what happened direstly after the funeral? A double Rainbow. It made me feel that Tom was right there with us. Wow, I wonder if you and i ever met, wrldzen. Have you read this book yet? It is a great read, even to those that have never heard of rainbow farm, Tom and Rollie, or Vandalia, MI. But to those of us who were there, and knew these men, it is a very emotional story, that gets right to the heart.

 

i spent a lot of time there also. i lived in decatur mi. and camped there often. this book haunted me for about a month after i finished it.

 

the book is good but i shows how a good thing was destroyed by tom wanting to grow when he knew he shouldn't have. that grow room is what teter wanted and needed to find to make a case and take the farm. i thought of tom and rollie as friends . we smoked plenty together and talked a lot. he knew better and it cost him his life and the lives of two innocent soul. rollie and his son. that poor kid will never be the same.

 

I also thought of Tom and Rollie as friends, they were good men, with good ideas on how things should be. They were excellent parents to Robert, wonderful people, but setting up a grow room was just a bad idea! Bad ideas, however, should not lead to the terrible deaths of theses men, and poor Robert (like you said plumberjohn) will never be the same. I just finished this book yesterday, and cannot stop thinking about it!

 

I was at the funeral for Tom ,Juggalette...& I do remember the rainbows...they were amazing! Did either of you go to the tribute ceremony? I read online that Robert is in college and studying to be a preacher. I also heard that the Rainbow Farm property has been sold and a housing development is going in there, this is so sad. I ordered the book the day I heard it was out (3 copies!). It was good to have another perspective beyond the newspapers.We have probably all crossed paths...

 

Well, after Toms Funeral, my family and I were in the caravan that was headed out Tom's parents house (I believe that that was where I we were going) and I was in a terrrible car accident. Completely totalled my van, but all of the great people that were thaere gathered up all of our belongings, got them to a safe place, and took up a collection (about $300) to help us out with expenses, and to replace what was lost in the accident. It was amazing that these people, very few of whom I really knew, would do that for us, but that was very much something that Tom and Rollie would have done themselves. We later went out to the protest site for awhile, and spent time with friends old and new. Were either of you guys there for any of that? This is the first time in YEARS, I have talked to anyone who knew of them. Since reading the book, i cant stop thinking about them, and the great times that i had there. Rainbow Farm played a huge part in me being who I am today.

 

I was there Juggalette. We went to the parents house too. I was in the garage with my sister singing as guitar Joe played.I vaguely remember hearing about your accident. Did you go out to Rainbow Farm after it was deystroyed? I have pictures from there.I will try to locate them.
Where in So.Cal are you? I used to live in Simi Valley many moons ago

 

I remember guitar Joe!! He was a nice guy, and good on the guitar, and we actually share the same birthday. I never mad it to the parents house because i was at the hospital for several hours, but when we were all released, we went out to the protest site for a while, but I never got to go back to the farm because the nest day I left on a train to move to California. I tried to keep up out here (online) with what was going on, but the day we got here was Sept.11, so by that time, not to much was being said about the Farm. The only "news" that I could find at that time was mostly just opinion and hearsay. The book helped clear up alot of questions for me.

If you have any pics from rainbow farm (before or after) I would LOVE to see them.

 

I will try to find the pictures & scan them in so I can show them to you. They are not pretty...they were taken after the destruction.

 

I am sure that they are difficult to see,, but I dfinately would love to see them. Thanks. I actually have been spending quite a bit of time lately online looking for pics and haven't come up with much.

 

have you been to the Rainbow Farm website? I googled Rainbow Fram and came up with news stories & book reviews but not many pictures.