I have been a Beatles fan since I was five, but even more so, a fan of John Lennon. He was always my favorite Beatle. Previously, for New York Almanack, I wrote about when John and Yoko visited New Paltz in 1971 and dined over the mountain at the Depuy Canal House in High Falls. During that time, people who read the article mentioned that John Lennon had come to Ulster County more than a few times. I have been unable to verify this until recently. Enter May Pang, who agreed to speak to me about John’s time in Ulster.

In 1973, John Lennon and Yoko Ono had problems in their marriage. Yoko felt it was time for them to separate for a while. May Pang had been the couple’s personal assistant for three years. When Yoko sent John away, it was with instructions for May to accompany him and continue to be his assistant and companion, which she was from 1973 to early 1975. She was 22 years old when she became his girlfriend.

She witnessed what would become John’s lost weekend, which lasted 18 months. Yet it was so much more than roughly two years of drunken debauchery as portrayed by the press. It was a time when May helped John reconnect with his son Julian and started socializing again with bandmates Paul, Ringo, and George. He also recorded with Elton John and David Bowie. In short, it became perhaps the most prolific period of John’s life post-Beatles.

During his time away from Yoko, John produced Harry Nilson’s album Pussy Cats, completed Mind Games, Walls and Bridges, and started work on the Rock ‘n’ Roll album. He visited Elton John and worked with him on his album Caribou, and even found time to work with Ringo on his album Goodnight Vienna. The couple did not live in L.A. They lived in New York City at 434 East 52nd Street, overlooking the East River. The pace of work was grueling and took a toll on both John and May. She explained that by the fall of 1974, John told her he was exhausted.

“I need a break,” he said to May in September 1974.

How did they end up picking Ellenville as a getaway? There was a restaurant called Home on the Upper East Side at 91st and 2nd Avenue. It was a favorite of John and May. She had introduced John and Yoko to the owners, Richard and Cynthia Ross. Richard offered their cabin in Napanoch for John and May’s use for as long as they needed it.

The couple piled into May’s “’72 Chrysler Station wagon.” She remembered it was “the last year that there was a 45-record player in the dashboard of that vehicle.” They listened to the radio as they drove up the Palisades Parkway. I had to ask what songs they heard on the ride upstate. She did not remember. She remembered John peacefully looking out the window and saying, “This is nice, going up this road.” She drove because John, May explained, was a notoriously bad driver.

They only spent a weekend in Napanoch, in September 1974. It was exactly what the couple needed. When they exited the station wagon, May recalled that it was chilly. John could not wait to put on his favorite sweater. In her book Instamatic Karma, May wrote that it was an “Irish knit cable sweater.” He enjoyed exploring the property, and Richard’s brother decided to join them with Richard’s two dogs, named Shazam and Delilah. May, as always, had her camera ready to document the trip.

May and John walked on a trail with the two dogs on one particular day. She explained that she let John walk ahead as she dropped back, waiting for an opportunity for a picture of John enjoying himself.

When everything looked right, she called “John!” He turned around, a little startled, and she snapped the iconic photo. He later confessed to her that it was one of his favorite photos. He insisted that it be used for a UK re-release of the song “Imagine,” which coincided with the release of the album Shaved Fish, a collection of singles. It was a 45 and May gleefully exclaimed, “It was released on my birthday.”

After their long weekend, they returned to New York City where John resumed his hectic schedule, starting work on his Rock ‘n’ Roll album, which would be released in 1975. This was his last album until 1980.

May does not remember where exactly Richard and Cynthia Ross's cabin was located. Less is known about the trail Lennon liked to walk on that weekend in September 1974. One thing is for sure: Napanoch is forever linked with Lennon’s iconic song “Imagine” by that picture May snapped with her camera that day.