Peace Gathering in Spencer, WV

February 15, 2003
Photos by Vivian Stockman

News coverage from The TImes-Record

Peaceful crowd attends gathering

Jude Binder (top) portrays a dying Iraqi woman carrying a child at a peace gathering outside the Roane County Courthouse Saturday. A small group of counter-demonstrators, including Kevin and Jason Groves also carried signs to make their feelings known. Photos by SIDNEY BOGGS

By David Hedges
PUBLISHER

- New York, London and Paris weren't the only cities with peace rallies Saturday.

Like hundreds of other cities in the U.S. and around the world, Spencer had its own gathering, which attracted about 100 people to an hour-long program in front of the Roane County Courthouse on a cold and snowy morning.

"In a democracy it is the right and duty of citizens to educate themselves about issues and make themselves be heard," said Larry Cottrell, one of the speakers.

A Vietnam veteran, Cottrell spoke of his own experiences after joining the Marine Corps in 1962, three days after graduating from Calhoun County High School.

The former Calhoun County Commissioner said the American public was fooled into going to war by claims that U.S. ships had been attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin.

"Our government will sometimes lie to start war," said Cottrell. "It is very appropriate we stand here today and say, not in our name, not again."

He also recalled a classmate killed in Vietnam, and of the fiancée he left behind. When he visits her in a nursing home, Cottrell said she talks about her old flame.

"The effects of war last a long, long time," said Cottrell.

Rev. Jim Lewis, a retired minister from Charleston, said the idea of a war with Iraq was unacceptable to many.

"There are people out here in small communities and all over this state who do not want to go to war," said Lewis, also a Marine veteran and a founder of the West Virginia Patriots for Peace.

"We need to bring these troops back home where they belong and find another way to resolve this," he said.

Several in the crowd carried signs, including one which said "Honor our troops. Bring them home now."

Sister Jane Francis Omlor, a Franciscan nun and former Spencer resident, opened the program with the prayer of St. Francis for peace.

She also spoke of the military men and women who have already been called into action.

"We remember them in our prayers," she said.

Omlor said half the population of Iraq was children who would suffer the most if a war took place.

Throughout the program, a dying woman with a baby in her arms was silently portrayed by Jude Binder, who operates a school for the performing arts in Calhoun County.

Carl Shaw, another veteran and Calhoun County native, said the U.S. was jeopardizing its credibility with an unprovoked attack.

"We have heard the reasons given for this war, and they don't make sense," said Vivian Stockman, another speaker. "We don't think invading Iraq will make the world one iota safer from a terrorist attack. In fact, we believe the opposite is true."

Stockman said the National Council of Churches and most mainstream denominations had come out in opposition to the war.

There was also a small counter-demonstration across the street, as about a half dozen people stood in front of a vacant storefront with signs that read "Give Nukes a Chance" and "Dead Arabs Mean Cheap Gas."

"We just thought we'd represent the Republican party, or at least another opinion," said one of the sign-holders who identified himself as Kevin Groves of Egypt Ridge.

"We want to let people know there is more than one point of view in Roane County," added his companion, Jason Groves.

Some who attended the rally said it was worth coming out in the cold.

"This isn't just a few dissidents," said Harmony resident John Kampsnider after listening to the speakers. "There is a cross-section of the community that wants to say something about this.

"It'll be sad if we have to end this war like we did Vietnam, by body counts," Kampsnider added. "Some of those bodies might be from right here."

Danielle Duff, a Roane County High School junior, also watched the events in front of the courthouse.

"I think it's great everyone is taking a stand against war, especially in small towns," she said.

"It gives people a chance to come out and express themselves," said Stephanie Hussain, another RCHS student.

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