Faith Petric (September 13, 1915–October 24, 2013) was an American

folk singer Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

and

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

. She was head of the San Francisco Folk Music Club for 50 years and was remembered by SF Gate as "a central figure of the San Francisco folk music scene."

Early life and career

Petric was born on September 13, 1915, in a

log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a minimally finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first-generation home building by settl ...

near

Orofino, Idaho Orofino ; (''"fine gold"'' rein Spanish language, Spanish) is a List of cities in Idaho, city in and the county seat of Clearwater County, Idaho, Clearwater County, Idaho, United States, along Orofino Creek and the north bank of the Clearwat ...

. Her father, a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

minister, taught her and her three siblings how to sing

hymns A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

. The family had an old

pump organ The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reed aerophone, free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ ...

at home, and they would sing popular western songs together. Petric's parents divorced while she was a teenager and she was subsequently sent to live in a boardinghouse. She later attended

Whitman College Whitman College is a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington. The school offers 53 majors and 33 minors in the liberal arts and sciences, and it has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1. Founded as a seminary by a territorial l ...

Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,339 as of 2023. The combined populat ...

, where she graduated in 1937. After graduating, she moved to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, taking on various jobs. In 1945, she moved to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, where she gave birth to her daughter Carole. She was briefly married during this period. She joined the

peace movement A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world pe ...

and later lent her voice to various causes, joining the

Selma to Montgomery marches The Selma to Montgomery marches were three Demonstration (protest), protest marches, held in 1965, along the highway from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery. The marches were organized by Nonviolence, nonvi ...

and defending a

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

couple that moved into her neighborhood. Petric learned to play the

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

in the 1930s, during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Petric was a "

Rosie the Riveter Rosie the Riveter is an allegorical cultural icon in the United States who represents the women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II, many of whom produced munitions and war supplies. These women sometimes took entirely n ...

", building

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost cons ...

s in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. In 1962, Petric became the head of the San Francisco Folk Music Club and began hosting the popular jam sessions in

Haight-Ashbury Haight-Ashbury () is a district of San Francisco, California, named for the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets. It is also called the Haight and the Upper Haight. The neighborhood is known as one of the main centers of the countercultu ...

. She retired from her job at the California State Department of Rehabilitation in 1970, after her daughter finished college, to focus on music full-time. She co-founded the Portable Folk Festival along with other members of the group, including Jon Adams, Jon Wilcox, Larry Hanks, Sunny Goodier, and the Sweets Mill String Band. The group traveled around North America in an old school bus performing at numerous folk festivals. They performed at the

Mariposa Folk Festival Mariposa Folk Festival is a Canadian music festival founded in 1961 in Orillia, Ontario. It was held in Orillia for three years before being banned because of disturbances by festival-goers. After being held in various places in Ontario for a fe ...

, Toronto's Centre Island, in 1971. She toured the world, playing various clubs, theaters and protest marches. Petric was involved with

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

refugees,

anti-fascism Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

committees, worked for

racial equality Racial equality is when people of all Race (human categorization), races and Ethnic group, ethnicities are treated in an egalitarian/equal manner. Racial equality occurs when institutions give individuals legal, moral, and Civil and political r ...

, and was a political target during the McCarthy Era. She was also a member of the

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), whose members are nicknamed "Wobblies", is an international labor union founded in Chicago, United States in 1905. The nickname's origin is uncertain. Its ideology combines general unionism with indu ...

(IWW) and performed under the label of the union's Entertainment Workers' Industrial Union No. 630. Friends of Petric have described her as the "Fort Knox of folk music," for her ability to recall the lyrics of thousands of songs. Petric wrote a regular column for ''

Sing Out! ''Sing Out!'' was a quarterly journal of folk music and folk songs that was published from May 1950 through spring 2014. It was originally based in New York City, with a national circulation of approximately 10,000 by 1960. Background ''Sing O ...

'' magazine. In a 2011 interview, Petric noted that, "Just because you are old doesn't mean the creativity goes away," planning to sing for as long as she was able.

Death

On October 24, 2013, Petric died of natural causes at the age of 98. In 2014, The New Old Time Chautauqua did a tour in Petric's honor, dubbing it the "Keep the Faith" tour. The tour included Petric's birthplace,

. At the 2014 San Francisco Free Folk Festival, one of the performance areas was named after her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petric, Faith 1915 births 2013 deaths American folk musicians American anti-war activists Industrial Workers of the World members People from Orofino, Idaho American communists