Alice Brock, Who Helped Inspire ‘Alice’s Restaurant,’ Dead at 83

Alice
Brock,
the
woman
who
gave

Arlo
Guthrie’s
classic
Thanksgiving
tune

“Alice’s
Restaurant
Massacre”
its
name,
has
died
at
the
age
of
83.

It
was
Thanksgiving
1965
when
Guthrie,
then
just
18-years-old,
visited
Brock
in
Great
Barrington,
Massachusetts.
She
and
her
husband
were
converting
an
old
church
into
a
home,
and
Guthrie
and
his
friend
Rick
Robbins
offered
to
help
clear
out
an
abundance
of
garbage
and
building
supplies
that
had
been
left
behind.

Finding
that
the
local
dump
was
closed
due
to
the
holiday,
the
men
deposited
the
material
in
a
nearby
lot.
They
were
arrested
for
littering
the
next
day
and
the
conviction
later
made
Guthrie
ineligible
for
the
draft.

The
story
would
be
woven
into
the
folk
singer’s
1967
tune,
commonly
referred
to
as
“Alice’s
Restaurant.”
At
over
18
minutes
in
length,
the
long
and
winding
track
offered
a
satirical
protest
of
the
Vietnam
War.
Guthrie
went
on
to
fame
like
his
father,
Woody,
while
“Alice’s
Restaurant”
became
one
of
his
signature
songs.
A
movie
inspired
by
the
tune
and
starring
Guthrie
as
himself
was
released
in
1969.

Arlo
Guthrie Honors ‘Lifelong
Friend’
Alice
Brock

In
a
message

posted
to
Facebook,
Guthrie
paid
tribute
to
his
departed
friend.

“I
first
met
Alice
in
1962
when
she
was
the
school
librarian
at
The
Stockbridge
School,
in
Stockbridge,
Massachusetts.
I
was
there
beginning
my
second
of
four
years.
I
also
met,
Rick
Robbins,
another
student,
and
we’ve
been
friends
ever
since,”
Guthrie
recalled.
“Rick
and
I
went
to
visit
Ray
and
Alice
for
Thanksgiving
in
1965.
The
rest
is
history.
Alice
went
into
the
restaurant
business
and
I
began
my
years
as
an
entertainer.
We
were,
both
in
our
own
ways,
successful.
As
well
as
being
a
restauranteur,
Alice
also
became
an
author,
and
an
artist.
We
worked
together
on
various
projects.
During
the
next
few
decades
we
remained
friends
while
our
lives
kept
us
busy.
She
was
a
no-nonsense
gal,
with
a
great
sense
of
humor.”

“This
coming
Thanksgiving
will
be
the
first
without
her,”
Guthrie
continued,
describing
Brock
as
a “lifelong
friend.”
“Alice
and
I
spoke
by
phone
a
couple
of
weeks
ago,
and
she
sounded
like
her
old
self.
We
joked
around
and
had
a
couple
of
good
laughs
even
though
we
knew
we’d
never
have
another
chance
to
talk
together.”

Listen
to ‘Alice’s
Restaurant
Massacre’