Though the message of Orange’s peace statue, “It Shall Not Be Again,” did not seem to endure just a few years after it was created in 1934, for many of us, the desire to put an end to war remains powerful and urgent.
Dave McClellan’s recent informative, photo-illustrated story about the statue, published last Monday in the Athol Daily News, was in part an acknowledgement of the centennial anniversary of the end of World War I.
I remember the line from the song, “With God on our Side,” by Bob Dylan, which commented on World War I this way: “The reason for fighting I never did get.”
This is not the place for me to explain the origins of that war, which took millions of lives, but Dylan’s popular song reminds us that humans need to know more about these tragic conflicts that continue to rage. History is worth studying. A journalist friend of mine from the late 1960s, Mike Shuster, has been writing an amazing blog, “The Great War Project” (www.greatwarproject.org). Some readers may recognize Shuster’s name, as he worked for many years as a foreign correspondent for National Public Radio.
In the wake of McClellan’s piece, I’d like to add a little about the history of Orange’s Peace Statue. It serves as a memorial to Orange men who gave their lives during World War I, but in recent decades, it has also been a focal point for political statements.
Monday, Aug. 6, marks the anniversary of the use of the atomic bomb by the United State Air Force on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On that date, in some past years, peace and anti-nuclear activists have gathered at the Peace Statue to warn about the misuse of nuclear power.
I gathered with a group of concerned citizens back in the 1980s, when we were trying to shut down the nuclear power plants in Rowe and in Vernon, Vt. I took a photo of my friend Rice Flanders and her daughter Alexa holding signs in Memorial Park. Rice is now in her 70s and Alexa is in her 40s and working with judges in Franklin County Probate Court. Both remain advocates for peace and social justice.
In more recent years, Women in Black, a peace organization including members from several North Quabbin region towns, held frequent vigils in front of the Peace Statue, holding signs opposing U.S. involvement in wars in the Middle East. Their message was seen from cars on South Main Street.
The members and clergy of Orange’s First Universalist Church have played a role in the Peace Statue from the time it was installed in 1934. The Rev. Wallace Fiske came to Orange in the 1990s to participate in a moving program oraganized by Janice Lanou, a member of that church and director of Wheeler Memorial Library.
At that time, the 12-foot-high bronze sculpture by Joseph Pollia was showing significant signs of wear. An upgrade was needed, so to raise funds and garner community support, two separate committees were former. One was directly concerned with the statue and was led by Sally Sennott, then chair of the Orange Cultural Council. Work on the statue by Royalston Foundry owner Jeff Bronnes was essential.
The second committee focused on Memorial Park and was formed by the Orange Revitalization Partnership and headed by Janis Stone. I was one of many individuals and businesses that purchased engraved bricks to memorialize loved ones and celebrate various aspects of community life. Reading the inscriptions on the bricks can be a very emotional experience, as can viewing this memorable example of public art.
Among those so moved was state Sen. Stephen Brewer, who got the state legislature to approve a bill sanctifying Pollia’s creation as the official peace statue of the Commonwealth. Just a few years ago, another committee was formed to create and install a large granite stone that includes the names of Orange citizens who perished in all wars. I remember being concerned that a large monolith might take away from the beauty of the Peace Statue, but the committee was wise to install a memorial that is large, but not high off the ground, thus serving its purpose well without any negative impact to the park.
Going back to the 1930s, shortly after the statue was installed, the Mount Grace Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution presented its annual Medal for Excellence in High School Physics to Robert Elliot Babbitt, 14, an Orange High School freshman. This wise youth, after describing the statue, concluded his essay this way: “Then, too, what good is war? What is gained by it? Everyone loses in war. Therefore, let us all strive for peace and cooperation between nations in the world. Also, bear in mind the significance of our statue and its noble words: ‘It Shall Not Be Again.’”
The complete text of this essay can be found in my 2003 book, “North of Quabbin Revisited,” published by Haley’s of Athol.