COMMUNITY

Sowing the seeds of peace around town

Chuck and Pat Fisher plant a Peace Pole in Wallace House Park.

The first two Peace Poles were recently installed in Keizer. 

The locations are in front of Los Dos Hermanos Mexican & Salvadoran Restaurant on River Road North and in Wallace House Park. 

Keizerite Pat Fisher is leading the charge as part of the Rotary E-Club of One World. The Rotary Club of Keizer is backing the project financially as well. 

“The [Peace Poles] are meant to represent a symbol of the unity and harmony within the community and hope for a greater culture of peace worldwide,” Fisher told the Keizer Parks Advisory Board in 2020.

Pat Fisher and Los Dos Hermanos owner Teresa Muñoz.

The poles have the same message, “May Peace Prevail On Earth,” written in several languages. Fisher is tailoring the languages on each pole to the communities in the immediate vicinity. Most of the pole in Keizer will include eight languages each.

Each pole includes English and Spanish. The pole at Los Dos Hermanos includes German, French, Japanese, Hindi, Swahili and Arabic. Additional languages on the Wallace House Park pole include Italian, French, Japanese, Thai, Hawaiian and Chinuk Wawa. 

Chinuk Wawa is the language that emerged when white settlers encountered the indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest. 

Additional Peace Poles are planned at McNary High School, Keizer Rapids Park, Pfc. Ryan J. Hill Park, St. Edward Catholic Church, Willamette Valley Bank and Country Glen Park.