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The
International Peace Arch
In case you haven’t already read “About our Town,” the
International Peace Arch is located on the grounds of a lovely international
park adjacent to Blaine, Washington, a coastal community surpassing 4,000
residents, and commonly called “the Peace Arch city.” It’s
a monumental portal, 67 feet tall, resting on the international borderline
between The United States and Canada. Atop it fly the flags of both nations.
The Peace
Arch was Samuel Hill’s dream,
fulfilled September 6, 1921, when he dedicated it to the
cause of international peace in the presence of a large audience
from both sides of the border. Remembering the Treaty of
Ghent six years after he had completed construction of the
Pacific Highway in 1915, this wealthy Quaker and famous road-builder
dedicated his concrete and steel portal to “children
of a common mother” as “brethren
dwelling together in unity.” Today it’s all of
us—no matter where we live.
Nobody
knows which architect designed the Peace Arch. It is commonly
thought Harvey Wiley Corbett, who designed the famed Bush
House in London, also designed the portal. Recent research
suggests Meredith G. Jones designed it, perhaps as Corbett’s
junior architect. Research remains to unearth the actual
story.
Washington
state schoolchildren, handicapped by the Great Depression,
donated about $1,500 toward funding construction of Samuel
Hill Memorial Park, today known as Peace
Arch State Park. Governor Andrew Danielson, a Blaine resident,
convinced our state legislators to dedicate $15,000 toward
park development. As for the Peace Arch itself, Hill probably
supplied most of the money that allowed us the white monument.
The day
will probably arrive when “children of a common
mother” will be identified with Earth rather than England,
but the central message remains unchanged.
It’s
all about peace.
Peace
must become our priority and our focal point of deepest concern,
ably embraced with sincere action, beginning at the local level.
I spent
15 years, off and on, writing the history of the Peace Arch.
My nephew, Blaine Clark, wouldn’t
let me go to the graveyard (I’m 76) without publishing
it. Sam Hill’s
Peace Arch: Remembrance of Dreams Past is available through
www.authorhouse.com or www.amazon.com if you open “books” and
type “Sam Hill’s Peace Arch” in the search
box.
The Peace
Arch is an unusual symbol. Our aim is to give the symbol
substance. To that end, I am reminded
that our city’s official theme is “Promoting Peace.”
______________________________________________________
©2006
Vigil for Peace. All Rights Reserved
www.vigil4peace.com
Email: vigil4peace@hotmail.com
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