Late Notice – Herb Petty

On Monday morning, Herb Petty of Atlanthus Grove (right) passed away. He was a hellraiser back during the tumultuous 1960’s, when the US was fighting in Vietnam despite rampant protests. But unlike many who went on to have normal lives, Herb never quit protesting against injustices. He served in Vietnam, yet became totally disillusioned with war and protested against it ever since.

In the 1970’s, he was instrumental in the food cooperative movement. His farm in Atlanthus Grove was the place to be for folks who still wanted to fight the system and rage against the machine.

In 1984, Petty was the target of a massive police raid against his home, with the cops alleging that he ran a marijuana manufacturing operation. The cops surrounded his place with sawed-off machine guns one morning, and Petty and his girlfriend woke up to a shouted, “You’re under arrest!” 

Petty fought the charges, which could have brought him 20 years. He retained John Downs, a former state legislator, who accused the cops of Nazi brown shirt tactics. Finally, the prosecutor offered him an Alford plea, in which the defendant maintains his innocence, but admits the state can make a case against him. He was given probation.

Herb continued to live next to the land and offer hospitality to kindred spirits. He was one of the original supporters and boosters of the Sheridan Express in 2006 and sat on the board for a time. 

In 2011, he stood nearly alone at the Ketcham Sports Complex in Trenton when a public hearing on a state lawsuit against Premium Standard (now Smithfield) turned into a massive pep rally demanding that the state allow them to keep operating. He was the one opponent of the operation out of around 3,000 people present. Even his opponents, however, respected his ability to show hospitality to other people, even when they were on the other side of the fence. He fought animal confinement operations wherever they sprung up in Northwest Missouri, forming many unlikely friendships along the way.

During the height of the Iraq War, people saw a totally unexpected side of him. He was driving friends to Washington, DC, to protest against another unpopular war. He and his friends were sleeping in their bus, when a burglar attempted to break in. Herb hit the window with a powerful right hook and the burglar fled. Nobody realized that Herb was a fighter in time of need. Later, he still found time to sightsee in DC even as he protested against the war.