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Establish a Peace Site, promote Peace

A Peace Site dedication at St. Paul's Monastery, St. Paul, June, 2009

A Peace Site dedication at St. Paul’s Monastery, St. Paul, June, 2009


My friend, Lynn Elling, founder of World Citizen and co-founder of the Nobel Peace Prize Festival, now part of the Nobel Peace Prize Forum, has a favorite Gandhi saying which he recites often: “If we are to reach real peace in this world and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with children”. The entire quote is here.
For Mr. Elling, promotion of Peace Sites has been an important part of his near life-long history as witness for Peace.
He first learned of the concept “Peace Site” in the early 1980s. I met Mr. Elling and learned of Peace Sites only six years ago, and in many assorted contacts since then, I agree that they are a wonderful community building venture wherever a group chooses to dedicate one, with direct and potentially lasting positive impact on children.
Here are a few notes about Peace Sites, and how anyone can create a Peace Site at school, place of worship, organization, etc:
HISTORY: Best as I can determine, the idea of formal Peace Sites originated in New Jersey in 1982. Here is a column from New York Times at the time: Peace Sites NJ 1982001. Mr. Elling, of Minneapolis MN, learned of the idea and set about replicating it in Minnesota in 1988. Characteristic for him, he engaged all out, to the extent that there are now hundreds of Peace Sites which trace their history back to the local idea of this man.
World Citizens list of Peace Sites as known today can be viewed here.
BECOMING A PEACE SITE: In my six years of knowledge of Peace Sites, I have witnessed and/or learned about many Peace Site Dedications in various settings.
A Peace Site dedication program at Great River School, St. Paul MN, November, 2012.

A Peace Site dedication program at Great River School, St. Paul MN, November, 2012.


There is no “formula” for a Peace Site dedication. There are ideas for what a Peace Site celebration might entail, but in my experience the best Peace Site dedications are home grown through a process in which community members elect the kind of dedication they wish to have.
Often times these will include dedication of a Peace Pole; sometimes of a standard model, sometimes they are a unique creation of a local artist or group of artists.
New Eagle Scout Eric Lusardi, at left, brought a New Peace Site and personally designed Peace Pole to life in New Richmond WI in the summer of 2012.  Melvin Giles, center, helps dedicate the Peace Site on the International Day of Peace Sep 21, 2012.

New Eagle Scout Eric Lusardi, at left, brought a New Peace Site and personally designed Peace Pole to life in New Richmond WI in the summer of 2012. Melvin Giles, center, helps dedicate the Peace Site on the International Day of Peace Sep 21, 2012.


But the key aspect of a successful Peace Site is that a local committee create their own idea and program, and involve the greater community in the Dedication ceremony.
REDEDICATION: One of the remediable problems I have seen with Peace Sites is that, once created, they simply exist and are not rededicated on a regular basis. A great deal of effort is expended to do a Dedication, but no attention is paid to rededicating the Peace Site on a regular (as yearly) basis.
What can too easily happen is that the great esprit of the moment can quickly erode, and if there is no conscious effort on an ongoing basis, before too long, people forget that they are a peace site, or the people who originated the idea in the first place move, or in other ways the institutional memory disappears, and with it the whole idea of a peace site.
It is important for existing Peace Sites to make a commitment to rededicate in some fashion each year.
There is no “cookbook” for Peace Sites, but they do kindle a candle of Peace in the hearts and minds of children and adults wherever they appear.
Consider the possibility of a Peace Site where you live.
Past posts specifically about Peace Sites are here and here.
Some lucky bird may take up residence in this ceramic birdhouse which will grace the top of the completed peace pole when the Peace Site at Washburn High School in south Minneapolis is dedicated in the Fall of 2013..

Some lucky bird may take up residence in this ceramic birdhouse which will grace the top of the completed peace pole when the Peace Site at Washburn High School in south Minneapolis is dedicated in the Fall of 2013..


Rededication at Bloomington MN Jefferson High School May 3, 2013.  The school has an annual rededication as a Peace Site, and it is a major annual event.

Rededication at Bloomington MN Jefferson High School May 3, 2013. The school has an annual rededication as a Peace Site, and it is a major annual event.

#728 – Dick Bernard: A great day around kids.

Today I visited two school events, one in Minneapolis, one in South St. Paul. One planned, one last minute. The events caused me to go into my memento box and pull out a little memory book from back in the 1950s.
School Daze001
The book seems to be from my Junior year in high school (Antelope Consolidated, rural Mooreton ND). About all it includes are the basketball scores from that year. We won more than we lost. Once we scored 91 points; once an opponent scored 91 against us.
I loved basketball in our tiny schools. It was about the only sport available. Sometimes there was summer baseball; only once were there enough of us to have a six-man football team. There were no other sports, and never, in high school, a band – no teacher with even rudimentary skills.
The good old days.
Todays planned event was over at Washburn High School in south Minneapolis. I had been there some months ago during a troubled time, and wrote about a community meeting then.
Today was much more uplifting. The students of Cristina Benz’s first hour ceramics class and [some other] students have been diligently working on making a peace pole to rededicate Washburn as an International Peace Site.
They had constructed a unique Peace Pole out of ceramic squares, all reflecting the word “peace” in different ways and different languages. There was an hour of discussion and refreshments, and I went away refreshed in more ways than simply a bagel! The actual dedication of the pole will be a bit later. School ends for the year tomorrow.
Of course, Washburn ended up in the news for something negative…the way news often is. I asked how the next few non-newsworthy months have gone. By all accounts: just fine. The school moved on. The news media went to the next negative stories….
Here are a few photos from the class:
(click to enlarge)

Two students explain the still incomplete Peace Pole at Washburn High School

Two students explain the still incomplete Peace Pole at Washburn High School


1939 Washburn High School graduate Lynn Elling talks to this years students at the class.

1939 Washburn High School graduate Lynn Elling talks to this years students at the class.


Some lucky bird may take up residence in this ceramic birdhouse which will grace the top of the completed peace pole.

Some lucky bird may take up residence in this ceramic birdhouse which will grace the top of the completed peace pole.


Teacher Cristina Benz chats with guest Lynn Elling after his presentation.

Teacher Cristina Benz chats with guest Lynn Elling after his presentation.


Then to South St. Paul’s Lincoln Center School for the 5th grade run including granddaughter, Kelly.
It was a beautiful day, and the run was plenty long and hard. Quite a number of teachers participated.
This was a fun run: you go at your own pace. I got to thinking back to those old days when, perhaps, there’d be what I think was called a Play Day. I thought of one particular one in Stanley ND when I was in 8th grade. The tiny schools came together for a time of competitions of the time: sack races, softball toss, that sort of thing.
A feature of today’s So. St. Paul run that you wouldn’t have seen in those days was the inclusion of everybody, regardless of native ability. It was a day of personal bests for all.
That’s one of many neat parts of todays society. It hasn’t always been so.
Happy Summer, kids!
Here’s some photos from Lincoln Center run today:
The 5th grade run begins.

The 5th grade run begins.


Kids from other classes extend support.

Kids from other classes extend support.


Heading towards a personal best.

Heading towards a personal best.


Doing a lap on the track.

Doing a lap on the track.


Almost finished!

Almost finished!


Schools done.  1950s depiction.

Schools done. 1950s depiction.