Echoes of November: The life and times of Senator R.F. Pettigrew of South Dakota

Comphrehensive biography of U. S. Sen. R. F. Pettigrew of South Dakota. Pettigrew lived from 1848 to 1926. Born in Ludlow, VT, and raised in Evansville, WI, he came to Dakota Territory in 1869 as a young man. He poured his immense energies and talents into the economic and political affairs of Dakota. He was a surveyor, lawyer legislator, railroad promoter, entrepreneur and town builder.

Pettigrew was a leader in the movement to create the state of South Dakota. He served in the U. S. Senate from 1889 to 1901. In a move that shocked America, he abandoned the Republican party in 1896 in favor of Populism, and thereafter became one of the most influential and controversial members of Congress, leading the fight in favor of "free silver." Pettigrew also fought against imperialism and opposed the war in the Philippines. He was one of a handful of lawmakers who created the National Forest system.

This book explores every aspect of his life beginning with his experiences on the wild Dakota frontier, to his legendary political battles in Washington, D. C.

I am a South Dakota native. I served in the U. S. Marine and lived in Los Angeles in the 1960's, where I performed as a guitar player, singer and song writer.

I graduated from UCLA with a degree in history in 1973, and in 1979, graduated from Western State University College of Law in San Diego.

My first book, "Where the Sioux River Bends," was published in 1985, by the Minnehaha County Historical Society in Sioux Falls, SD. My other books, "Tales of Dakota Territory," Vol I (1994) and Vol II (1999), were published by Mariah Press in Sioux Falls.

I am currently a corporate lawyer in Sioux Falls.