Nothing lasts forever — except remembering the 1960s. Oregon State University’s College of Liberal Arts is wrapping up its series titled, “The 60s: The Decade that Changed America,” created by journalist and historian Bob Santelli, with a talk on The Merry Pranksters. Ken Kesey, Springfield High School alum and author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Sometimes a Great Notion, led the group with Neal Cassady — who was a main character in Beat writer Jack Kerouac’s On The Road — driving the “Furthur” bus. Journalist Tom Wolfe wrote The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, which covered the group’s trip from California to the 1964 World’s Fair in New York City. The event features original Pranksters Carolyn “Mountain Girl” Garcia, Ken Babbs and George Walker as well as Kesey’s son Zane. 

“The Merry Pranksters: A Zany, Psychedelic, Rollicking Conversation with the Merry Pranksters” is 7:30 pm, Wednesday, Nov. 20, in the Construction and Engineering Hall at The LaSells Stewart Center at Oregon State University in Corvallis. FREE. — Henry Houston

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