The Peace Monument
Community Connections / 21st Century Community Learning Centers
Berlin, Calais, East Montpelier, Middlesex, Montpelier, Worcester
15 State Street, 3rd floor - Montpelier, VT 05602
phone: 802-223-3456 fax: 802-223-1957

In May of 2002 Joseph Gainza from the American Friends Service Committee presented the idea of a student designed, student carved Peace Monument to the Community Connections Coordinating Council. The concept of the Peace Monument was two-fold to offer a high quality Service Learning project to our youth over the summer months and to provide Central Vermont with a Peace Monument. The council agreed to fund the project at $3,000. The funds were used to pay Heinz Rathmann, a master craftsman, who worked with the students to create the monument and for materials. Michiko Oishi, a Community Connection's site-coordinator for Union Elementary School, and Deborah Bogart, the Service Learning facilitator for Community Connections, organized the involvement of students throughout the summer. Community Connection campers from all five elementary schools in the U-32 district, U-32 Junior, Senior High School, Montpelier High School, Montpelier Recreation Department, Main Street Middle School and Union Elementary worked on the Monument. Each of the camps scheduled times throughout the summer to participate in the hand carving of the Peace Monument.

A core group of fourteen Montpelier and U-32 high school students designed the Monument. They became the sustaining core through the whole summer with younger students flowing in and out of the process. This core group also took on the task of publicity, finding a site and contacting influential individuals to support the project including Ray McNulty, Commissioner of Education. The students were interviewed by radio stations, appeared on Bill Doyle's television show and were interviewed for a front page article in the Times Argus by Associated Press. This article appeared in several other newspapers. They also had an editorial published reminding people that the Monument was not a memorial for 9/11 but rather a Peace Monument in honor of Peace with no political overtones. Heinz, Joseph and Deborah guided the students. We also had help from Sally Black. The tree for the monument was donated by Sara Norton and Joseph Gainza and the workstation was established at Hubbard Park under the watchful eye of Geoff Beyer, our Hubbard Park manager. Heinz bought child sized carving tools and guided the high school group in creating four workstations including vises. All hand tools were used for the entire process, rasps, drills, axes, chisels, saws, sandpaper and visegrips. We only had two minor cuts that were fixed with a Band-Aid.

The younger children would arrive in the mornings in groups varying from 7 to 50 and Heinz would put everyone to work no matter what the size! There were over 200 children in the Central Vermont area who had an opportunity to work on the Peace Monument. The kids loved it. Each day began with a lighting of the candle and a circle. Directions and question were shared as well as a dialog on what peace meant to the children. At the end of each session another circle was formed for reflection and a story. Many of the children commented on the peaceful atmosphere of collaboration that permeated the site. Adults and children alike who were just on a walk through the park would stop to enjoy the energy and often times join in with the work. In speaking to one of the student's mothers she said, " My son has been so happy this summer with the focus of working on the peace monument, he seems more peaceful." The process has been as important as the product. Now we do have a nearly completed monument and we are asking the Kellogg Hubbard Library to consider placing the monument on their land, where all visitors can enjoy it.