MIFFLIN STREET TRADITION OFF TO 'CALM, WELL-BEHAVED' START

Of all the sights on West Mifflin Street on Saturday, none seemed more
reassuring than long-time marijuana activist Ben Masel, his hair
pulled back in a graying pony tail, toting a sign that read "Grow Hemp
Save Farms."

Amid all the partying, Masel, 55, seemed at least an echo of the first
Mifflin Street block party 40 years ago, born in 1969 during the
politically charged days of the Vietnam War protests.

The more mainstream 40th anniversary edition of a Madison springtime
tradition, fueled by sun and warm temperatures and beer, was in full
swing by 2 p.m. on Saturday with hundreds of students filling Mifflin
curb to curb and others jammed onto the sagging porches and balconies
of the street's old two-story homes.

Police, on horses and in cars and on foot, were much in presence.
Nearby streets were blockaded and signs reading "No open alcohol, no
glass, no public urination," greeted party-goers.

Despite the prime spring weather and the swelling, swilling crowds,
few problems had surfaced by late afternoon, according to Rachel
Strauch-Nelson, a spokeswoman for Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz. She
reported only a handful of arrests, though the number was expected to
go up as day turned into evening.

"Things are going well at this point," said Strauch-Nelson at
mid-afternoon Saturday. "The crowd is calm and well-behaved."

About 120 officers with Madison and Dane County were on patrol during
the event, which is expected to draw at least 15,000 people, mostly
students. Considering that the first Mifflin Street party ended with
police and students squaring off in riots that lasted three days, the
relationship between law enforcement and party-goers seemed friendly
enough Saturday with smiling officers frequently agreeing to pose with
students for photos.

Most law enforcement efforts seemed directed at keeping beer drinkers
on the grounds of private residences where open alcohol containers
were legal, as opposed to the street and sidewalks.

T-shirt sales were brisk, driven by both the good weather and the 40th
anniversary. Brynne and Erin McBride, twin sisters who work with ABC
For Health, were hawking T-shirts from a back door of the non-profit,
now housed in the old Mifflin Street Co-op building. The T-shirts read
"The Revolution Continues, Mifflin Street, 1969-2009."

"We're keeping the Mifflin Street spirit alive," said
Brynne.

Most other T-shirts were somewhat less inspiring. "I Would Rather Be a
Good Liver Than Have One, Mifflin '09," read another.

With a stage and a disc jockey spinning tunes and food carts up and
down the street, a search for the goofiness of some of the old Mifflin
Street parties took a while. But the strangeness could be found
Saturday afternoon in the 400 block where Alex Scherer-Jones did yo-yo
tricks for beer and money. At his feet sat a cardboard box inscribed
with the words "Drunk People Love Yo-Yos." In the box were two beers
and a pile of bills.

Few had as much perspective as Masel, who led a march advocating the
legalization of marijuana from the Capitol Square to Mifflin at noon.
Masel said his first block party was in 1971, two years after the
first. Saturday, he and about about 150 others carrying signs and
chanting "We smoke pot, we like it a lot," paraded onto Mifflin and
were greeted with wild cheers and applause.

"We did this to sort of demonstrate that some of the spirit remains,"
said Masel.