Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index The diggers were a radical left-wing guerilla theater group from 1966-68, based in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco. The group was formed by former members of the San Francisco Mime Troupe. Members included Emmett Grogan (cofounder and leader), Peter Coyote (cofounder), Peter Berg (cofounder), Billy Murcott, La Mortadella, Slim Minnaux, Butcher Brooks, Kent Minault. Billy Murcott named the group after the original Diggers and wrote the first edition of the Digger Papers. These Diggers apocryphally claimed that the original Diggers were so named because they were being killed by the king's men, and were constantly being seen digging graves for their brethren. They opened stores, fed people, organized concerts as works of political art. Some of their events include the Death of Money Parade, Intersection Game, Invisible Circus, and Death of Hippie/Birth of Free. The Diggers fed people in the Panhandle of Golden Gate Park in Haight-Ashbury for free. They served a stew made from donated vegetables behind a giant yellow picture frame, called the Free Frame of Reference. People who came for the food were given a two-inch-by-two-inch frame to hang about their neck, called the portable Free Frame of Reference. The Diggers popularized whole-wheat bread with their Digger Bread, baked in coffee cans at the Free Bakery. They opened numerous Free Stores, in which all items were free for the taking or giving in Haight-Ashbury. The stores were funded by money from local merchants afraid of or supporting the Diggers, who paid a one percent tithe to the Free City Bank. This accounted for the saying "99% Free". The first free store was called Trip Without a Ticket. They also opened a Free Medical Clinic. They threw free parties with the Grateful Dead and other rock bands, planned on dates such as the solstice or equinox, with such sights as trucks of naked belly dancers driving through the neighborhood in the afternoon with black conga players, wine, and marijuana. In their publications, the Diggers coined such phrases as "Do your own thing" and "Today is the first day of the rest of your life". The Diggers inspired later groups like the Yippies. The Diggers felt that Abbie Hoffman stole many of their ideas without giving them credit. The Diggers fell apart primarily due to heavy drug use, as most members were addicted to heroin. Books Sleeping Where I Fall by Peter Coyote 1998 Ringolevio by Emmett Grogan 1972 Ringolevio: A Life Played for Keeps by Emmett Grogan, Peter Coyote (Illustrator) 1990 External link The Digger Archives Home Page The Free-Fall Chronicles excerpts from Sleeping Where I Fall. This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.