THE FAITH OF THE LA FOLLETTES.

• Author: Lueders, Bill
• Position: EDITOR'S NOTE

On a Saturday in September, a few dozen people gathered in Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison, Wisconsin, at the gravesites of Fighting Bob La Follette and Belle Case La Follette. They came to rededicate the restored grave markers for the legendary orator, Wisconsin governor, U.S. Representative and Senator, and two-time presidential contender, and his equally accomplished wife, an activist for women's suffrage, peace, and civil rights. Together, in 1909, they began publishing La Follettes Weekly, later renamed The Progressive.

Three years ago, Madison resident Kathy Miner noticed that the La Follettes' grave markers were in "a shockingly neglected condition," as she told me at the event. She contacted Norman Stockwell, the publisher of The Progressive, to see what could be done about it. Around the same time, Rebecca La Follette-Taylor, a distant relative of the La Follettes and a member of a Daughters of the American Revolution chapter in Oregon, made the same observation during a visit to Madison.

Norm worked with the local DAR chapter to raise the roughly $2,000 cost of restoring the markers. The restoration work is ongoing, but the rededication took place on the morning of September 11, coincidentally the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks and deliberately two days after the twentieth annual Fighting Bob Fest--this year, as last, held mostly remotely.

At the cemetery event, Taylor and others spoke of the life and legacy of the La Follettes. Music was provided by the Raging Grannies, an all-female, young-at-heart local affiliate of the international singing group. They sang a song each about Fighting Bob and Belle, the latter written for the occasion by folk singer Si Kahn. Here's a taste:

No street or highway bears her name / No statue shows her strong and proud / No building tall is named for her / Such silence, where she spoke so loud..../ May we all honor in our work / the sheroes of our herstory / May they return to bring us hope / Prom roots sunk deep in memory / May old acquaintance be renewed / May no ill wind befall it / And may we always keep the faith / The faith of Belle La Follette.

During their lifetimes, Fighting Bob and Belle secured historic protections for working people; fought for racial justice, human rights, and women's rights...