(Sawyer County Record) - HAYWARD, WI - They’ve become a familiar sight at the corner of Highways 63 and 27 in Hayward. They hold signs. They wave. They usually smile. They appreciate the honks of support. They tolerate the jeers and middle fingers pointed in their direction.

They're members of Peace North, and they've spent many hours standing at Hayward's busiest intersection. These days, they’re there every Friday afternoon from 4 to 5 p.m. Some consider themselves antiwar protesters, others supporters of peace. They refer to their weekly event as a “Vigil for Peace.”

A National Effort

The Iraq Moratorium, said Peace North member Steve Carlson, is a grassroots effort aimed toward bringing together many different constituents within the growing peace movement.

According to the Iraq Moratorium Web site (www.iraqmoratorium.org) citizens interested in joining the movement should make this simple pledge: “I hereby make a commitment that on the third Friday of each and every month, I will break my daily routine and take some action, by myself or with others, to end the war in Iraq.”

Many members of Peace North have embraced the concept and have pledged to be at the corner of 27/63 each third Friday from 4 to 5 p.m. They hope others interested in peace, Peace North members or not, will join them.

According to Peace North President Jacque Lindskoog, the group has joined the effort to show a spirit of solidarity with other, larger peace activist organizations, including United for Peace & Justice. She said she’s hoping people will begin to turn out in much larger numbers than they have had since the beginning of the Iraq War — “more like the protests during the Vietnam War.”

The Hayward event is listed on the Iraq Moratorium Web site, along with 53 other events nationwide in December.

On Nov. 16, Carlson said, the Iraq Moratorium vigil attracted 40 people, the largest group seen on the corner since the 2003 beginning of the war.

For those interested in toying with numbers, Peace North members enjoy touting the fact that, per capita, the November third Friday vigil in Hayward was the largest in the nation.

Forty protesters in Hayward — according to retired journalist, blogger and activist Bill Christofferson — is the statistical equivalent of 12,000 in Milwaukee or 160,000 in New York. Peace North members, however, are quite happy with the growing number of people joining in for the vigils. “Each time we get together,” Lindskoog said, “we’re seeing more people. More and more trickle in.”

She compares the experience to the theme of Wisconsin author Michael Perry’s popular book, “Population: 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time.” In the non-fiction book, Perry describes the experience of getting to know members of his community while working in a volunteer fire and rescue department.

Lindskoog said that by participating in the Peace North vigils, she’s meeting her neighbors who are also interested in peace — one at a time. “Peace is so important to so many people in the region,” she said, citing regular peace vigils held in other towns in the region, such as Ashland.

Lindskoog has considered herself a peace activist since taking a bicycle trip in Vietnam in 1995. While there, she saw the after effects of the Vietnam War and participated in protesting a company that made land mines. She became a member of Minneapolis-based Women Against Military Madness, a non-violent feminist organization that works to create a system of social equality, self-determination and justice through education and empowerment of women.

Peace North has maintained a sporadic presence with vigils on the corner since the beginning of the war, but for the past three months there has been a regular vigil held each Friday from 4 to 5. “I hope this builds momentum like the Vietnam protests did,” she said, “and this war ends. They’re not listening,” she said, referring to the Bush administration. “This slaughter has to end.”

By participating in this national monthly Iraq Moratorium, Carlson said members of Peace North are hoping to contribute to expanding a national base of anti-war opposition. The moratorium was proposed by a handful of people at the United for Peace & Justice convention in June, he said, to create a nationwide effort for groups opposed to the war to work together. By participating, Carlson continued, Peace North is giving people opposed to the war opportunities to be heard which are more frequent, more immediate and more accessible.

So what can people who join the effort expect if they join the next Iraq Moratorium on Dec. 21? “There will be a holiday theme,” Lindskoog said, “with coffee and cookies.” “Hopefully there will be a crowd of people,” Carlson said. “There will be no speakers, no bullhorns,” just people holding signs and candles. “You can expect an overall favorable reception from passersby and motorists,” he added.

The response that Peace North members are getting at their weekly vigils has been changing favorably, he said. “This has changed. It’s more positive than in the past,” he explained. “Public opinion about the war is changing.”

The third Friday Iraq Moratorium events, Lindskoog said, will last an hour, just as the weekly Peace Vigils do; however, people are welcome to stay for any length of time. “If you can’t stay the whole time,” she said, “just give five or 10 minutes for peace. You don’t have to be there the whole hour.”

For Lindskoog, the thought of supporting the continuation of the war is unthinkable. Recently, she said, she lost her dog. “I was devastated, and then I thought about the car bombings and people dying over there (in Iraq) every day, and we're devastated over the loss of a pet.” She said she can’t imagine what the people of Iraq feel after seeing and experiencing so much loss of human life. “Just think of the anguish people there are feeling.”

For more information: www.peacenorth.org; www.iraqmoratorium.org.

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© 2007 Sawyer County Record

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