The first gathering of underground papers, sponsored by UPS, was held at the home of the "San Francisco Oracle"'s Michael Bowen in Stinson Beach, California, in March 1967, with some 30 people representing a half dozen papers in attendance. The meeting was chaotic and largely symbolic, and the concept amorphous. As Thorne Dreyer and Victoria Smith wrote for Liberation News Service (LNS), the formation of UPS was designed "to create the illusion of a giant coordinated network of freaky papers, poised for the kill." But, they added, "this mythical value was to be extremely important: the shoes could be grown into," and the emergence of UPS helped to create a sense of national community and to make the papers feel less isolated in their efforts.