Peace Pole Gets an Update – Cottage Grove, Oregon – USA
Mar 23, 2025
May Peace Prevail On Earth!
It’s a simple statement that carries great expectation.
That message is now firmly planted in Coiner Park next to the Hiroshima Peace Tree. It is a project that has been several years in the making, bringing together different groups of devoted and committed lovers of peace in a spirit of unity. Their goal is to make a significant community statement to pursue peace in the present culture of division and, even more importantly, to inspire future generations to embrace the concept of peace and devote themselves to fostering it.
Cottage Grove’s Peace Pole at Conner Park was dedicated last summer during Bohemia Mining Days.
The black wire mesh cylinder is filled with 200 “Unity Rocks.” Artists of all ages painted the colorful flags of countries around the world on them. The long-awaited artwork has now been attached to the outside of the Peace Poles four panels.
From left to right, the North, South, East, and West views of artwork placed on Cottage Grove’s Peace Pole.
“The Peace Pole Committee is happy to have the artwork installed on the structure. There are still some steps to finishing the rocks in the base of the Peace Pole. Future endeavors will include some QR codes to give more information to the public when they view the Peace Pole. We hope it will encourage people to seek peace through unity,” Peace Pole Committee Member Joyce Settelmeyer said.
The Peace Pole was placed near the Peace Tree, a sapling gifted to the community by the Green Legacy Hiroshima organization, which saves and spreads the seeds and saplings of Ginkgo trees that miraculously survived Japan’s 1945 nuclear bombings. “This tree growing in our town came from a seed that survived a horrific nuclear bomb,” Fish said. “Cottage Grove is very special to be the recipient of one of these seeds. The tree and the Peace Pole’s message, “May Peace Prevail on Earth”, is a statement about the importance of pursuing peace.”
Settelmeyer said, “Our highest aspirations for this Peace Pole are it will unite the Cottage Grove community and continually remind and inspire us all to think, speak and act in the spirit of peace and harmony.”
Last year’s celebration officially dedicated the Hiroshima Peace Tree that was planted in 2020. It was grown from the seeds of a Ginkgo tree that survived very near ground zero of the first atomic bomb blast in Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945. Near it on that day was a mock-up of peace pole-in-the-making.
He explained the genesis of the community Peace Pole originated in 1955 in Japan. The Peace Pole Project was started in Japan by Masahisa Goi (1916 – 1980), who dedicated his life to spreading the message, “May Peace Prevail on Earth.”
“Mr. Goi was greatly affected by the destruction caused by World War II, a decade earlier, and the atomic bombs which fell on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” Merryday said. “His desire to assist in the creation of world peace was answered when in 1955, the Peace Message, May Peace Prevail On Earth, came to him in a moment of great inspiration and deep prayer. Peace Poles are now the most recognized international peace symbol and monument the world over with more than 200,000 Peace Poles standing in almost every country throughout the world.”
More information on the worldwide peace pole project can be found at: www.peacepoleproject.org
Credit for Articles and photos: Cindy Weeldreyer/ Cottage Grove Sentinel