2006 Hillsdale County Peace Festival

Images from this year's festival, our biggest and best yet! The centerpiece of the festival this year was the Arlington Midwest display, a visual representation of all the U.S., coalition, Iraqi and Afghani casualties of our current wars. (Actually, the number has grown so large that our local park had room for only the U.S. casualties from Iraq! But, as you'll see, it still presents a very powerful image of thousands of American and Iraqi families that have lost loved ones forever).

For those who'd like to see this amazing display first hand, it will remain in Carl Fast Park in Jonesville through Wednesday, August 16.

The hard numbers -- sadly, in constant need of updating.

Try as we might, none of us could manage to get a picture that included every single headstone. There were just too many of them. This and the next few pictures give a strong impression of the human cost of this war.

A group of local teens (and younger) volunteered to position each of these "gravemarkers." They did a heck of a job, and their efforts help give me hope for the future.

To represent the Iraqi and Afghani losses, poles were erected listing the actual names of as many casualties as could be found. At the bottom of each pole is a summary of one of the many significant wars throughout history, with the total casualties for each. I wish I would have taken a close-up of at least one.

Displays are one thing, but it's people that make a festival happen. Here's part of the Annex crew: Minerva, Melissa and Carolyn (mother of yours truly).

The 2006 Festival had more groups represented than ever before, including this one -- the Environmentally Concerned Citizens of South Central Michigan. Seemed the perfect neighbor for the Green Party, so I set my table right next door.

Here's the Green Party of Michigan table, manned by my very own brother, who's claiming membership in the party. (gotta send in that membership form!). The bumper sticker he's holding says "Grand OIL Party." The fellow crouching in front of the table is one of the Northwest Ohio Greens, one of a few Ohio Greens with whom I got to do a bit of networking. (The NW Ohio Greens are part of the group that sponsors and operates the Arlington Midwest display). Within the last two months, I've had the pleasure of interacting and working with Greens from Michigan (of course!), Illinois, Indiana and now, Ohio. This is great!

A close-up of the easel display to the right of the Green Party table. It worked well as a focal point for the GPMI's presence at the Festival, and seemed to get peoples' attention.

Yours truly manning the Green Party table. It's a little dark and out of focus, but perhaps the photographer was more interested in the blonde in the background. Just a theory...

The tent for the sponsors of the Peace Festival, the Hillsdale County Coalition for Peace and Justice. They did a hell of a job getting the festival together, and each of them deserves a huge pat on the back.

The table for Haunted Hillsdale, a group that explores paranormal phenomena around Hillsdale County -- mostly reputed ghost hauntings in a lot of the very old houses in the area.

I was happy to see Law Enforcement Against Prohibition represented at the festival. They oppose the legal prohibition of marijuana and, unlike the numbskulls running the "Drug War," realize that the current criminalization creates MANY more problems than it could ever hope to solve.

Minerva once again, manning the table of a local Pagan church. (Yes, even here in ultra-conservative Hillsdale County, we have people who are willing to buck the traditional religions and go their own way!)

Pun Plamondon, author of "Lost From the Ottawa," who spoke on "Justice before Peace." Pun's been active in peace and justice issues for over 40 years.

A group advocating divestment from Israel. The fellow manning the table, Henry Herskovitz (where did he get that sandwich?), was also one of the speakers at this year's festival. The violin on the table has a label that reads "Poor Israel" (you get the idea...)

Veggies for Peace, a group of organic farmers offering their produce to festival goers.

Youth for Social and Economic Justice, and a chapter of the Gay-Straight Alliance from Coldwater(?) high school.

Representatives of the local Democratic Party, calling themselves "Democrats for Democracy." Somewhat of a misnomer, if you ask me, given the Democratic Party's very UN-democratic behavior toward the ballot access efforts of Greens and independents during the last few years.

Patrick Starlin, a veteran of the Iraq War.

One of the many musical acts at this year's festival. "Chairman Ralph" is a member of the Friends of the Hillsdale Annex co-op, and has performed numerous shows there.

Tom Spagetti, joined onstage by Richard Wunsch, chair of the Hillsdale County Coalition for Peace and Justice, who was clearly enjoying himself! Tom sounds like a nice guy. He wandered through the festival crowd, playing his accordian and, when told of my mother's musical family history, he played a bit of "Beer Barrel Polka" for her. I'm sure that brought back some great childhood memories for her.

Yet another of the festival's musical acts, Tanner Phillips, a member of Not Another Hero, another veteran of the Annex.

The Subliminal Kid (Tom Sylvia) from Ann Arbor and his band the Cowcatchers. Another frequent performer at the Annex, known for putting on great Sunday shows. They also performed at the "Afterglow" party at the Annex following the festival (sounding great, as usual) for a very enthusiastic and upbeat crowd.

The banner of the sponsors of the Peace Festival, the Hillsdale County Coalition for Peace and Justice.

The banner strategically placed on the corner of the park adjacent to the main intersection in town, announcing to passersby our feelings on how to REALLY "support the troops."

Those of us who were involved with the 2006 Hillsdale County Peace Festival are very happy with this year's results. We had beautiful weather, no snafus, and more participation from local groups than ever. Given the sparse population and very conservative bent of the local area, we were pleasantly surprised to see from 150-200 people visit and participate. A very special "thank you" to all involved with organizing and setting up this year's event. A job very well done!

photographs by Doug Baker & Pete Cromwell, edited by Doug Baker & Aimee England