Terry Pettus (August 15, 1904 – October 6, 1984) was a

newspaper reporter A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and activist from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

.Eric Scigliano, "What a Hoot!", ''Seattle Metropolitan'', December 2008, p. 52-54.Ross Reider
Pettus, Terry (1904-1984)
HistoryLink, September 27, 2000. Accessed online 2 February 2009.

Background

Meredith Burrus Terry Pettus was born on August 15, 1904, in

Terre Haute Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. His father was a

Christian Socialist Christian socialism is a religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing left-wing politics and socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe cap ...

Career

Pettus worked briefly as a reporter in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

and in

Grand Forks Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city o ...

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, So ...

, before moving to Seattle with his wife Berta in 1927. Shortly after arrival in Seattle, they lodged with artist

Kenneth Callahan Kenneth Callahan (1905–1986) was an American painter and muralist who served as a catalyst for Northwest artists in the mid-20th century through his own painting, his work as assistant director and curator at the Seattle Art Museum, and his wr ...

; Pettus went to work for the ''

Seattle Star ''The Seattle Star'' was a daily newspaper that ran from February 25, 1899, to August 13, 1947. It was owned by E. W. Scripps and in 1920 was transferred to Scripps McRae League of Newspapers (later Scripps-Canfield League), after a falling-o ...

''. In 1935, as a reporter for the '' Tacoma Tribune'' he became Washington State's first member of the

American Newspaper Guild The NewsGuild-CWA is a labor union founded by newspaper journalists in 1933. In addition to improving wages and working conditions, its constitution says its purpose is to fight for honesty in journalism and the news industry's business practices ...

. In February 1936 he was asked by the Guild to organize its Seattle chapter. By the end of the year, this had led to the first successful

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

to gain union recognition for workers at a Hearst newspaper (the ''

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The newspaper was f ...

''). ( David Selvin of the Pacific Coast Labor Bureau also played a key role in these events.) The ''Tacoma Tribune'' closed its doors shortly thereafter. Pettus worked for a time in

South Bend, Washington South Bend is a city in and the county seat of Pacific County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,637 as of the 2010 census. The town is widely-known for its oyster production and scenery. History South Bend was officially incorpor ...

, editing the ''Willapa Harbor Pilot'' and becoming involved with the

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

Washington Commonwealth Federation The Washington Commonwealth Federation (WCF) was a political pressure group established in the American state of Washington in 1934 as "Commonwealth Builders, Incorporated" (CBI). The organization changed its name to Washington Commonwealth Federa ...

, initially in a drive for public power. Increasingly radicalized by the Great Depression, in 1938 Pettus joined the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). He became editor of the Commonwealth Federation's ''Washington New Dealer'' (from 1943 ''New World''). When he tried to enlist to serve in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he was rejected because this work was considered essential to the war effort. In 1946, Pettus ran unsuccessfully for

Seattle City Council The Seattle City Council is the legislative body of the city of Seattle, Washington. The Council consists of nine members serving four-year terms, seven of which are elected by electoral districts and two of which are elected in citywide at-l ...

, finishing last in a field of six contending for three seats. On January 27, 1948, Pettus disrupted the first witness of Canwell Committee hearings into Communist infiltration in the State of Washington. The witness was Louis F. Budenz, managing editor of the Communist Party's official organ, the ''

Daily Worker The ''Daily Worker'' was a newspaper published in New York City by the Communist Party USA, a formerly Comintern-affiliated organization. Publication began in 1924. While it generally reflected the prevailing views of the party, attempts were ...

''. In that role, Budenz claimed to have heard of Pettus and to know of his newspaper the ''New World'' (previously the ''Washington New Dealer''). As soon as Budenz started talking about Communist newspapers in Seattle, Pettus tried to interrupt him. When Budenz stated "The New World is absolutely controlled by the political committee of the Communist Party," Terry Pettus finally made it onto the hearing's transcript, stating, "That is a lie, as the editor of that paper--" Budenz also said that

Jack Stachel Jacob Abraham "Jack" Stachel (19001965) was an American Communist functionary who was a top official in the Communist Party from the middle 1920s until his death in the middle 1960s. Stachel is best remembered as one of 11 Communist leaders conv ...

had told him about Pettus, editor and comrade. In February 1948, Pettus was named as a member of the Communist Party by former head of the

Howard Costigan Howard Gary Costigan (1904–1985) was an American radio commentator, political functionary, and politician. Costigan is best remembered as the Executive Secretary of the Washington Commonwealth Federation during the second half of the 1930 while h ...

in testimony before the Canwell Committee of the Washington State Legislature.

Blacklist Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, ...

ed in the

McCarthy Era McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner. The term origina ...

at the start of the Cold War, Pettus became editor of the ''

People's World ''People's World'', official successor to the '' Daily Worker'', is a Marxist and American leftist national daily online news publication. Founded by activists, socialists, communists, and those active in the labor movement in the early 1900s, ...

'', a newspaper associated with the CPUSA. He was charged in 1952 with

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agre ...

to overthrow the U.S. government, and convicted and sentenced to five years, plus an additional three on

contempt Contempt is a pattern of attitudes and behaviour, often towards an individual or a group, but sometimes towards an ideology, which has the characteristics of disgust and anger. The word originated in 1393 in Old French contempt, contemps, ...

charges for refusing to name names. He only actually ever served 60 days, and his conviction was eventually overturned by the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. Pettus left the CPUSA in 1958. Pettus was fired from the "People's Daily World" publication in 1958, which was controlled by the Communist Party, because he broke with the Communist Party. The issue for the break had to do with expulsions of socialists at the publication's annual picnic.The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Washington, August 26, 1958, Page 12, https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123396811/communist-paper-fires-terry-pettus/ Back in Seattle, Pettus moved onto a houseboat in 1958 and later played a crucial role in saving Lake Union's houseboats and in preventing the city from dumping sewage directly into the lake.

Legacy

In the late 1930s, in Seattle, Pettus edited the Commonwealth Federation's newspaper and hosted the Seattle-area

hootenannies A hootenanny is a party involving music in the United States. It is particularly associated with folk music. Etymology Placeholder Hootenanny is an Appalachian colloquialism that was used in the early twentieth century U.S. as a placeholder na ...

(or "hoots"), which Eric Scigliano describes as "fundraising, consciousness-raising, and hellraising parties" for the federation. Pettus had originally learned the word in Terre Haute, where it meant "a party that just sort of happens" without prior planning and brought it to Seattle. When

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...

and

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...

passed through Seattle, they performed at the hoots; it is believed that they picked up the term ''hootenanny'' there, and passed it into the broader American vocabulary. Seattle mayor

Charles Royer Charles T. Royer (born August 22, 1939) is an American news reporter and politician who served as the 48th mayor of Seattle, Washington (U.S. state), Washington from 1978 to 1990. After serving as mayor of Seattle, Royer became the director of t ...

honored him in 1982 with an official Terry Pettus Day, and in 1985, the year after his death, the city dedicated the small Terry Pettus Park on the shore of Lake Union near one of the houseboat neighborhoods.

References

External links

Library of Congress: Pettus, Terry, 1904-1984

Archives West: Terry Pettus papers, 1927-1984
* Gordon Black

Pacific Northwest Labor History Projects, Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies, University of Washington. Last updated July 31, 2007. Accessed 2 February 2009.
Terry Pettus papers.
1927-1984. approximately of textual materials, plus 2 folders, 1 looseleaf notebook, added ephemera and 10 cassettes. At th
Labor Archives of Washington State, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pettus, Terry 1904 births 1984 deaths American communists Members of the Communist Party USA American Marxists Washington (state) socialists American male journalists 20th-century American journalists Marxist journalists Writers from Seattle 20th-century American writers