By Brenna Wiegand
Silverton People for Peace representatives hold a vigil on Main Street as have every third Friday of the month for the past nine years. They show up with their signs beginning at 5:30 p.m. and silently send their message to passersby for the next a couple of hours.
Money’s behind most wars, they say.
“We need to deal with the economy first; we need a sustainable economy,” David Gortner said. “We can’t go on this way; if we can change and become sustainable, large companies will not be able to lobby Congress for massive weapons systems … they’re not creating real wealth; real wealth is family, home, small businesses and local, regionally based economies.”
The group, based at the Silverton Grange, also works to support economic, social and environmental justice, Robert Sisk said.
“We seek nonviolent conflict resolution and local, regional, national and global peace,” he said.
Dick and Rose Lewis have been involved in the peace movement all of their adult lives. Members of the Quaker Church, they have started and joined peace demonstrations and vigils wherever they find themselves.
“A peace vigil is a different sort of thing; it’s a quiet vigil,” she said. “We get some fingers but mostly the peace sign, a wave or a honk.”
