Greg’s Wedding

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Greg Sperry and Janice Spellerberg were married at 418 Dundas Street on Christmas Day in 1968. The members of the Yellow Ford Truck commune on McCaul Street were invited to the wedding. The people who were living at 418 Dundas Street had just recently been staying at the McCaul Street house and everyone knew each other. The McCaul Street hippies came bearing the gift of a large cross-shaped candle that they took, at the last minute, from the Yellow Ford Truck store. The gift was offered in poor taste and was banished to a corner of the room. The wedding party continued into the night. Someone pointed out that Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao was born on Christmas day and the group broke into a chorus of “Happy Birthday, Chairman Mao”. Dave Woodward was living at 418 Dundas at the time and wrote a letter to Carol Huebner describing the festivities.


A letter from Dave Woodward to Carol Huebner, December 27, 1968

Friday, December 27, 1968

Sweetheart

I’m back at work again (sitting around Phase II) after two fine days of vacation. I mentioned before, I’m sure, that Greg and Janice were getting married. Well, they did on Christmas Day and I’ve been eating, drinking wine and beer and smoking dope ever since. The ceremony was really terrific. A Unitarian minister performed it in our living room with about twenty of us in a circle around them. Mostly (it was) the standard ceremony with some Shakespeare and Gibran thrown in. Thanks to several weeks of build-up, it was a serious, important event and everyone there felt closer together afterwards. And then came the feasting and merriment. Everyone reached a plateau where you could keep eating and drinking and smoking for days or weeks. We quit after twelve hours but I’m not sure why. Anyway, it was all pretty nice. There are lots of pictures, a couple of me in particular in my wedding garb (a waiter’s shirt of Don’s with ruffles on the collar and baggy sleeves, my new brown vest, grey striped pants and Chuck’s cowboy boots). (I look like an English rock singer). I’ll send you the best ones soon. At last I can see what all the excitement is about with the act of getting married and with the ceremony itself. It pays to put some work into it and have a fairly elaborate thing.

It’s a couple of hours later now. I’ve had some lunch and watched the snow. It’s been snowing for almost two whole days and it’s a nice, dry deep snow, though the streets are messy. I went out walking in it last night about 3 in the morning with Lisa and Chuck and Chacos. You really should have been there, it reminded me so much of all the walks we’ve taken in various places. And I like Chuck and Lisa too. For Christmas, without consulting each other first, he gave her three lamb-skins that he is going to make her a vest out of, and she gave him several yards of cloth that she’s going to make him a pair of pants out of. Speaking of which, you’ll have a package soon if it’s alright with the Lebanese Post Office. I didn’t get paid till Christmas Eve but I have over a hundred dollars now and I know just what I want to buy.

Mom and Dad came through pretty well for me once again. The nicest thing was a bushel of oranges and grapefruit from Florida, and a new sweater. And good old John sent up “Greatest Hits of the Temptations”, the same old record that has been going around in that basement for years. It maybe the greatest record of all time.

I’ve been to see my lawyer recently and I’ve been doing various fund raising things for the Canadian Right Defense Committee. If you know any rich exiled liberals who would like to invest in the political scene back home, you can tell them to send me the money. And promise that you’ll never get busted.

Love,

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