Retired basketball star Bill Walton paid a visit to the UO’s Knight Library while in Eugene on Wednesday, hooking up with two former members of Ken Kesey’s Merry Pranksters for a special viewing of the Kesey works housed in the library’s Special Collections and University Archives files.

Walton, who played with the Portland Trailblazers 1977 championship team, is a well-known fan of the Grateful Dead, a band that had close ties to Kesey. Joining him in the library were Ken Babbs and Carolyn Garcia, both members of Kesey’s counterculture group the Merry Pranksters.

Garcia was once married to Jerry Garcia, the lead guitarist of the Grateful Dead.

"This is my family," Walton said, and recounted how his love for the music of 1960's rock band The Grateful Dead led him to an appreciation of Ken Kesey's creative work and cultural legacy.

Walton also is a fan of libraries and noted that his mother was a librarian. To read the full story, see “Basketball Legend Bill Walton and Kesey's Merry Pranksters Visit UO Libraries SCUA.”

The visit also drew the attention of local media. For that report, see "Bill Walton visits Ken Kesey's papers at Oregon library" on Eugene television station KMTR.