Bongo, Hippie Monk.

 Bongo read about the Diggers and said,” I can do that!”. He began feeding hordes of hippies, runaways, soldiers, whoever came, every weekend in Piedmont.

Peter Jenkins says he acquired the name Bongo from leading drum circles in Texas. He wore out his welcome with local Texas persecution and was headed through Atlanta when the outrageous people on The Strip caught his attention and he decided to stay. Bongo ran free food on weekends and was instrumental in initiating the Crisis Center, worked as a liaison for runaways with The Bridge as well as running several crashpads. In Byron at the 2nd Atlanta International Pop Festival he was in charge of the overdose clinic  saving minds. He was a the forefront of efforts to keep hard drugs out of the Atlanta Hip Community. One of the first Greens, Bongo was always on a bicycle and was considered a little brother by the real Bikers. This enabled him to aid in cooling confrontations on The Strip.

Later Peter started tree climbing which grew into Tree Climbers International and has gone global. This led to his new nickname TreeMan. Peter is still a flurry of activity and a very positive force in the community. A tip of the aviator’s cap to Bongo for all the good.

Bill Hardin’s photo of Peter and wife Patty at the Bird Bash 2008.