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A pole to remind Port Jefferson residents and kids that peace will prevail has been installed at Rocketship Park.
The decorated 11-foot, 4×4 smooth cedar statue is one of over 250,000 Peace Poles around the globe — it’s an internationally recognized symbol of the hopes and dreams of every human being.
Each pole has the same message — “May Peace Prevail on Earth” — transcribed in different languages on each of its sides.
But it was hard to decide on which languages to mark the Port Jeff pole with, said Barbara Ransome, director of operations of the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, an organization that helped bring the monument to Port Jefferson.
“We originally wanted to put 15 languages, but had to narrow it down to 10,” she said.
Some that made the cut include Polish, Swahili, Italian, the motions for American Sign Language and brail.
“We thought it would be an appropriate project for the town,” she said.
It all started when the civic group Building Bridges in Brookhaven came together asking the town to allow the installation of the pole. Covered in colorful handprints and flowers decorated by Setauket resident Maryanne Hart, the monument towers over children playing on the slides and swing set.
The new Peace Pole is now one of the thousands that cover more than 200 countries worldwide. Japanese peace activist Masakisa Goi initially established the project in 1955.
“It has great exposure in the park,” said Ransome. “We wanted to impress the kids and promote peace.”
Backed by local officials including Mayor Margot Garant, civic leaders Tom Lyon and Myrna Gordon joined Ransome as the executive board to help bring the reminder of peace to the park.
“We want to thank the village for allowing us to put it in Rocketship Park,” said Ransome.
The project, which happened this fall, took over a month to fully complete, and interestingly enough, something that may seem so small had a lot of detail from what languages should be represented to what the plaque in front should say.
“With the understanding that we are not the first people to hope for a life of peace on Long Island, we acknowledge with gratitude the care taken of this land by the indigenous peoples who lived here before us and honor the contributions of their descendants who live here today,” the plaque reads.
“People need to be reminded about peace,” said Ransome. “People should pay attention and be mindful to help and let peace prevail on earth.”
Below are courtesy photos of the new peace pole.
Top: Peace pole at Rocketship Park in Port Jefferson.
