How the Grateful Dead saved the Springfield Creamery [Video]

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — When Chuck and Sue Kesey began the Springfield Creamery in the 1960s, growth was a bit sporadic. When they really hit tough times in 1972, Chuck turned to his brother to help.

His brother was Ken Kesey, who knew The Grateful Dead very well. Among other works, Ken Kesey wrote “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”

Chuck asked them to do a benefit concert for Springfield Creamery — and that’s how the Grateful Dead helped save the business.

“I was nearly 11 years old then, and it was 1972, and my parents had come upon hard times,” said Sheryl Kesey Thompson the co-owner and vice president of marketing for the company. “They had taxes that were due. And my dad decided to reach out to the Grateful Dead and he had a connection to the Grateful Dead through his brother Ken Kesey, who was a writer. And so my dad went down …