'A life that reads like a grand 20th century novel'

From: The man who brought the '60s to town: As owner of hippie hot spot The Barn, Leon Tabory planted a flag for the counterculture in SV

Despite its reputation as a natural wildlife preserve for 1960s-style hippies and similarly free-spirited life­style rebels, Santa Cruz County was once, in fact, a quiet, conser­vative, decidedly un-hip place.

reputation as a natural wildlife preserve for 1960s-style hippies and similarly free-spirited life­style rebels, Santa Cruz County was once, in fact, a quiet, conser­vative, decidedly un-hip place.

If anyone were ever to draw up a list of those most responsible for turning Santa Cruz from the latter to the former, among the top five names would certainly be Leon Tabory.

Tabory, who died in Septem­ber a week before turning 84, will be remembered at a memorial service on Sunday for a life that reads like a grand 20th century novel. But in the cultural history of the county, Tabory stands, for good or ill, as a pioneer in estab­lishing the '60s counterculture in this area. He brought in the Day­Glo colors where once had been only red, white and blue.

For a few crucial years in the mid-1960s, Tabory was the owner/operator of The Barn, a landmark off Highway 17 in Scotts Val­ley that, for a brief moment, was the local epicenter of the flower-power move­ment. In the middle of tran­quil, bucolic Scotts Valley, Tabory attracted droves of young longhairs where few had been seen before. A psychologist by train­ing, Tabory presided over a vibrant weekend scene that featured some of the earliest rock light shows as well as live musical acts including such iconic figures as Janis Joplin and Country Joe & the Fish.

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Coincidentally, the city of Scotts Valley was first incorporated the same year Tabory took control of The Barn — 1966. The Barn wasn't the first outpost of the counterculture in the area — the Hip Pocket Book­store and the old Catalyst in downtown Santa Cruz had opened earlier, providing a welcoming atmosphere for the politically conscious beat-generation vibe that had flourished in San Fran­cisco in the 1950s. He wasn't even the first to bring a new cultural scene to The Barn. Fabled beat figure Eric “Big Daddy” Nord opened a cof­fee shop in The Barn in 1964.

But it was Tabory who first brought the full-blown hippie aesthetic to the coun­ty, and it was Tabory who found himself in a long, draining battle with the newly established city. The Scotts Valley Planning Com­mission approved Tabory's first application to open The Barn as a community cen­ter, but warned him with a “no beatniks” rule.

The Barn opened with its light shows, its live con­certs, its colorful crowds and its eye-popping guest list, which often featured not only Janis Joplin and Country Joe McDonald, but beat generation luminaries Neal Cassady and Ken Kes­ey, both Tabory friends.

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