Croton Landing Peace Pole dedication must await the flowers of spring, Croton-on-Hudson, NY, USA

December 31, 2025

Yet the Peace Pole is already there to inspire us to rededicate our efforts.

Some Crotonites might have noticed that the dedication of the new Peace Pole at Croton Landing, originally scheduled for Sunday December 21, has been postponed until sometime in the Spring.

The Peace Pole is a project proposed by Croton’s Arts & Humanities Advisory Council, and the best way to understand what it is all about would be to read the Council’s successful four page proposal. For those who don’t have the time to do that, here is some brief background from the document:

“Originating from the World Peace Prayer Society in Japan in 1955, Peace Poles have been installed in over 180 countries, at sites ranging from schools and parks to the United Nations Headquarters. They transcend political and religious boundaries, promoting reflection, mutual understanding, and solidarity.”

The good news is that the Peace Pole has already been installed by Croton’s Department of Public Works, at the point where the path leading into Croton Landing Park bifurcates just past the soccer field. That location was the second of three choices proposed by the Council; the first choice was at Senasqua Park, and the third choice at the Five Corners.

But the sad news, we are told by the Council’s former chair and still member Ken Sargeant, was that in the dead of winter there was no possibility of planting flowers and other vegetation—such as “daffodils, hollies, ornamental kale,” and so forth—that would make the whole installation more decorative, and perhaps also more inspiring of the aspirations for peace.

Thus the postponement. Yet that does not stop walkers, runners, and bike riders from appreciating the message inscribed in eight languages on the Peace Pole, “May Peace Prevail On Earth.”

We realize that every year about this time, calls for Peace on Earth are commonplace, and no doubt sincerely meant by most who utter them. How likely they are to come true depends, of course, on our own actions. But it’s still good to see the pole there, calling upon us to renew our efforts for peace in 2026.

We wish all our readers a very Happy New Year.

Submitted by: Michael Balter