How Vancouver's Georgia Straight became a 'hippie newspaper'

The inaugural issue of the Georgia Straight newspaper would have been its last if Vancouver's mayor at the time had gotten his way.

The May5, 1967, issue featured a photo of Kitsilano's hippie mecca on West Fourth Avenue.

After it was published,then-mayor Tom Campbell tried to get the police to prevent a second issue from being printed, according to Dan McLeod, founder and publisher of the weekly paper.

McLeodsaid the Straight had humble ambitions before itriled city hall.

He said thegroup of founders was made up of poets who had been publishing a poetry magazineand simply wanted to promote the local arts scene.

"We thought we were just going to help the arts scene in Vancouver. Then we were drawn into the whole hippy thing as an issue," McLeod told Gloria Macarenko, host of CBC's Our Vancouver.

"People were coming to town in droves There was a youth movement that was just starting and they were flocking into our offices.

"It suddenly became a very different proposition to publish a paper than we had originally envisioned."

This year, MayorGregorRobertson proclaimed May 5, 2017, Georgia Straight50thAnniversary Day.

WatchDan McLeod's interview with Gloria Macarenko in theOur Vancouver video above orwatch it here.