LEFT, for a time in 2003, pro-war demonstrators gathered across the street from the Peace Vigil.
RIGHT, an unofficial start to the weekend, the Peace Vigil starts when the five o’clock whistle blows.
OPPOSITE PAGE, in addition to standing vigil, the Carpinteria promoters of peace have marched in the Holiday Parade, held lectures, and shown films.
2003
eight-year protest against U.S. war policy. Devoted to the cause, the group still assembles
every Friday, their heartfelt message still falling on Washington’s deaf ears. In all, demonstrators have stood at Mills Corner, the site of former Mills Drug Store, over 400 times, in over 400 failed attempts to stop the war. “On Christmas day last year (2009), it was cold and rainy, but three of us were still here,” says Bud Fink, a regular demonstrator. The commit- ment of loosely organized protestors, who without fail represent the anti-war cause each Friday at 5 p.m., has made Mills Corner synonymous with the Peace Corner. At the time of the original protest, the George W.
Bush White House was crafting its case for a military invasion in Iraq. The media bought the White House’s message wholesale and echoed it to the public, re- members peace activist and group organizer Kathleen Lord. “All the news media said everyone was for the war,” laments Lord. Disgusted and horrified by the
2010
AMonG other StronG ASSertionS, the pro-WAr Group cAlleD peAce corner proteStorS Anti-AMericAn.
idea of a preemptive war against what they saw as a powerless Iraq, Lord, her husband, Vice Mayor of Carpinteria Al Clark, Ted Rhodes and Betty Songer were among the first locals to demonstrate against the war. Early on, the band of anti-war protestors swelled to a peak turnout of about 40. But across the intersec- tion, where Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf operates today, an equally passionate group assembled on the empty lot to counter the Peace Corner protest. Among other strong assertions, the pro-war group called Peace Corner protestors anti-American. “We were accused of being liberals,” says Bud Fink, a Peace Corner regular, flashing a defiant smirk. The pro-war group main- tained a presence for a few months. Peace Corner activists persist. Over the eight years of continual protest, energy
has ebbed and flowed. During a particularly energetic period in 2004 through 2006, Peace Corner protes- tors held supplemental events outside of the Friday
32 CARPINTERIAMAGAZINE
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