Sis Cunningham (1909-2004) and her husband Gordon Friesen were born in rural Oklahoma, Gordon in Weatherford and Sis in Watonga. Her father was an avowed socialist and follower of Socialist Party of America founder Eugene Debs.

Woodrow Wilson Guthrie July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967 Guthrie was brought up by middle-class parents in Okemah, Oklahoma.

Peter Seeger May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014 Seeger was born at the French Hospital, Midtown Manhattan.

Sis Cunningham and Gordon Friesen wed in 1941. Soon after they relocated to New York City on the encouragement of their friends Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, moving into their communal Greenwich Village home dubbed Almanac House. The couple also joined Guthrie and Seeger in the Almanac Singers, widely considered the first urban folksinging group. In 1942, the Almanac Singers - whose roster also included Cisco Houston, Bess Lomax, Lee Hays, Millard Lampell, Arthur Stern, and Baldwin and Peter Hawes (and sometimes Josh White and Burl Ives) - recorded the album Dear Mr. President, with Cunningham contributing the standout "Belt Line Girls."