Middlebury Peace Vigil
Local Peace Vigil Participants
Join Marches in Washington, Montpelier
MIDDLEBURY, September 27, 2005 -- Several Addison County residents marked the fourth anniversary of the weekly Saturday morning peace vigil on the Middlebury Green, by attending peace marches in Montpelier and Washington, D.C. last Saturday, Sept. 24.
Among them were Bristol resident Linda Knutson and her daughter, Mahli, age 7. They joined 55 others on a charter bus that traveled overnight last Friday to the nation's capital for a massive peace march. More than a half-dozen other buses from Vermont made the trip to Washington. Knutson is the mother of two and a technical writer at Middlebury College.
Among locals attending the peace march in Montpelier last Saturday were Weybridge residents Jim Morse, a self-employed oil industry consultant, his wife, Margie, and their children Nikki and Aaron.
Knutson and the Morses have been frequent participants in the Middlebury peace vigil, which began shortly after the tragedies in New York City and Washington, DC on Sept. 11, 2001. Originally organized by the Middlebury Friends (Quakers) Meeting, the vigil has expanded to include residents from throughout the county.
Since Sept. 22, 2001, there has not been a single Saturday without someone "holding witness for peace" next to the fountain. The vigil is sponsored by the Addison County Peace Coalition. In addition to the weekly event, which is open to the public, the coalition has an Internet listserve and provides transportation support for people who want to attend out-of-town peace gatherings.
Last Saturday's gatherings in Montpelier and Washington, D.C. were designed to rally public support for an end to the U. S. invasion of Iraq. An estimated 200,000 people from all over the country attended the Washington event, according to media reports.
The march and rally in Montpelier drew an estimated 1,500 people, said to be one of the largest political gatherings ever in the state capital.
"One of the most powerful parts of the march and rally involved 1,912 small white flags planted on the Statehouse lawn--one flag for each American soldier killed inIraq as of Saturday morning," said Jim Morse. "To most of us, 1,912 is just another number. It's hard to get a feeling for exactly how big it is. But standing on the edge of that sea of flags really brought home the magnitude of what we have lost, themagnitude of what the war has cost. Especially considering there were no little white flags to represent the American wounded, and the many more Iraqis who have been wounded and killed in the war."
The Middlebury peace vigil continues on the Village Green every Saturday morning for a half-hour at 10:30 a.m. A similar vigil occurs Friday afternoon at 5:30 p.m. in Bristol.
For more information, call Winslow Colwell at 388 1961, or e-mail win@wcolwell.com.
Join Marches in Washington, Montpelier
MIDDLEBURY, September 27, 2005 -- Several Addison County residents marked the fourth anniversary of the weekly Saturday morning peace vigil on the Middlebury Green, by attending peace marches in Montpelier and Washington, D.C. last Saturday, Sept. 24.
Among them were Bristol resident Linda Knutson and her daughter, Mahli, age 7. They joined 55 others on a charter bus that traveled overnight last Friday to the nation's capital for a massive peace march. More than a half-dozen other buses from Vermont made the trip to Washington. Knutson is the mother of two and a technical writer at Middlebury College.
Among locals attending the peace march in Montpelier last Saturday were Weybridge residents Jim Morse, a self-employed oil industry consultant, his wife, Margie, and their children Nikki and Aaron.
Knutson and the Morses have been frequent participants in the Middlebury peace vigil, which began shortly after the tragedies in New York City and Washington, DC on Sept. 11, 2001. Originally organized by the Middlebury Friends (Quakers) Meeting, the vigil has expanded to include residents from throughout the county.
Since Sept. 22, 2001, there has not been a single Saturday without someone "holding witness for peace" next to the fountain. The vigil is sponsored by the Addison County Peace Coalition. In addition to the weekly event, which is open to the public, the coalition has an Internet listserve and provides transportation support for people who want to attend out-of-town peace gatherings.
Last Saturday's gatherings in Montpelier and Washington, D.C. were designed to rally public support for an end to the U. S. invasion of Iraq. An estimated 200,000 people from all over the country attended the Washington event, according to media reports.
The march and rally in Montpelier drew an estimated 1,500 people, said to be one of the largest political gatherings ever in the state capital.
"One of the most powerful parts of the march and rally involved 1,912 small white flags planted on the Statehouse lawn--one flag for each American soldier killed inIraq as of Saturday morning," said Jim Morse. "To most of us, 1,912 is just another number. It's hard to get a feeling for exactly how big it is. But standing on the edge of that sea of flags really brought home the magnitude of what we have lost, themagnitude of what the war has cost. Especially considering there were no little white flags to represent the American wounded, and the many more Iraqis who have been wounded and killed in the war."
The Middlebury peace vigil continues on the Village Green every Saturday morning for a half-hour at 10:30 a.m. A similar vigil occurs Friday afternoon at 5:30 p.m. in Bristol.
For more information, call Winslow Colwell at 388 1961, or e-mail win@wcolwell.com.
posted by Greg | 12:19 PM
|
2 comments
