Guthrie wrote the song in 1940, in the hall of the Oklahoma City Communist Party, and it was performed, by Guthrie and Pete Seeger, for a group of striking oil workers the night it was written, according to The Nation.
Last Thursday, on the other side of a wall from where Ms. Guthrie worked, Andrew Stewart, head stylist, painted a backdrop for a group of decanters, jewelry boxes and other small goods for the "Little Bit of Luxe" sale.