The death of Pete Seeger reminds me of my late father, Derek - TopicsExpress

The death of Pete Seeger reminds me of my late father, Derek Wardle. No, he was not famous, but there were many similarities between them. Both were pacifists, and both were members of the communist party in their youth. Pete Seeger and his family suffered for his stand against the anti-communist witch hunts of the 1950s; because of his past membership in the party, my father was almost denied entry into the U.S. when our family disembarked in New York City on a chilly January day in 1964. For both Pete Seeger and my father, WWII was a seminal event that set the direction for the rest of their lives. Both loved the outdoors: Seeger his home on the Hudson River (and the river itself); my father the Peak District, Dartmoor and the Lake District in England, and Wheathill farm and the countryside around communities in Pennsylvania and New York. Pete Seeger used folk songs and songs of the labor and civil rights movements to solidify his belief in social justice and equal rights for everyone; my father found his roots for social justice in the life of his great grandfather, who was a founding member of the English Labor Party, and who helped establish unions and pass anti-child labor laws. In their old age, they even looked alike: white hair, a scraggly beard, and glasses. During the last years of my father’s life, he lived quite close to Pete Seeger’s home on the Hudson. I don’t know if they met during that time, but if they did they must have had lots to talk about!