Bohemians Ballyhooed at Grove Gathering

Historical Essay

By Mark Evanoff

Originally published in “It’s About Times,” the Abalone Alliance newspaper, September-October 1982, p. 9

As Mercedes, BMWs and Cadillacs carried the corporate elite to their annual frolic at the Bohemian Grove, a group of people claiming to be the real Bohemians stood outside the gates and waved to the men in the passing cars. The Bohemian Grove Action Network (BGAN) was holding a "counter Grove" from which to publicize corporate and government responsibility for the deterioration of the quality of life.

Protest at gates of Bohemian Grove, the exclusive camp with its clubhouse in San Francisco, but its retreat in Sonoma County.

Photo: It's About Times newspaper

Although the Bohemian Club calls itself a "non-profit mutual benefit corporation" which "does not involve itself in political matters," its members' include both corporate wheeler-dealers and top government officials. This year Henry Kissinger spoke to the Bohemians, reassuring them that although the world is in turmoil, the United States can retain its influence through "decisive action."

William Webster, director of the FBI, talked about the importance of more surveillance in the United States. Paul Volker, President of the Federal Reserve Board, promised that the economy would right itself in a year and a half.

German Prime Minister Helmut Schmidt, who came to the Grove to soothe troubled relations between the US and its NATO ally, was not warmly received when he stressed the importance of detente and advised that the United States begin to realize the importance of getting off a war footing.

Despite the seriousness of these matters, waiters inside the Grove told BG AN that many Bohemians were often too drunk to walk. One said that the attitude seemed to be, "eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we will die—which to these guys means being removed from power."

This waiter, one of several who supplied information to the demonstrators, was appalled at the corporate leadership. "The head lemmings are all drunk and leading us over a cliff without knowing what they're doing."

Bohemian Grove campers walk by protest camp at gate.

Photo: It's About Times newspaper

For two weeks, members of BGAN maintained a 24-hour presence outside the gates. As a matter of policy, they were open and friendly to everyone passing by, including the Bohemians themselves. BGAN believes that this policy created an atmosphere in which people from the community, workers at the Grove, and the Bohemians could talk to each another. It made Grove workers comfortable enough to supply information and literature taken from inside the Grove to members of BGAN.

This year, BGAN succeeded in sneaking four people into the Grove. A Time magazine writer and a National Public Radio reporter posed as waiters, and a Time photographer accompanied by a BGAN member hiked in through the countryside, slipping into the grounds by posing as Bohemians. The Time photographer caught Kissinger during his speech, and the writer did a feature article on the Grove. The story was approved for publication by Time's Western bureau chief, but killed in New York.

The NPR reporter was able to tape a number of the speeches, but NPR at first refused to make the tapes available to BGAN, although they had agreed to do so in exchange for help in getting into the Grove. NPR did eventually give BGAN a copy.

According to Bohemian Club policy, business is never supposed to be discussed inside the Grove. Every encampment begins with corporate officials dressed in red robes burning an effigy of "Care," after which the fun is to begin. This year a proposed amendment to the Civil Rights Act by the American Bar Association threatened the privacy of the Club. The response from the Bohemians showed that more than fun takes place during the annual encampments.

One letter circulated in the Grove by the Bohemian Club's directors warned, "No more business talks over a friendly drink. Unless of course, you are willing to have your club open its doors to everyone -- regardless of the club members' wishes." Under pressure from Club members, the American Bar Association dropped the resolution two weeks after the end of the encampment.