The first town that you are in has a quest (ghost town shoot out or something) and in order to get some dynamite i need to pass an explosives speech check. Is there a patriot's cook book in this town (and where) that i could use to boost my skill to 25?

I don't think you actually need to recruit anyone other than the one girl (her name escapes me). The rest just make it easier.

o ok. i thought it would help like with the reputation and what not.