On Saturday, September 14th, 2024 the Friends of the Seaside Public Library will welcome R.J. Marx, who will be giving the first in a series of presentations titled, “Seaside’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Labor Day Riots: 1962.” The event will take place at 2:00p.m. in the Library’s Community Room.
Three years of youth riots in Seaside changed the course of the city’s history to today. On three consecutive Labor Day weekends in 1962, 1963 and 1964, thousands of young people arrived in Seaside to party, listen to music and raise hell. They were met with the full force of the law, bringing in local, county and state police along with the U.S. Army National Guard. Marx recaptures that period and events that altered the lives of participants forever. With first-hand reports, newspaper chronicles from around the world, and never-before-printed communications from city, state and federal officials, Marx offers a glimpse at the city at a crossroads. The first of three presentations zooms in on the local and national events leading up to the first of the riots in September 1962.
