Lake of the Pines, California Peace Pole, California, USA.
On September 20, 2026, we planted and dedicated a Peace Pole at our family home at Lake of the Pines, California. We began the Dedication Ceremony with a First People’s Land Acknowledgement of the Nisenan People who have been living in the area for thousands of years.
We then dedicated the Peace Pole to our mother, sister, grandmother, and great-grandmother Lollie Rueppel, who lived at Lake of the Pines for 50 years. She passed on in 2023 at four months shy of 102 years old. She was an inspiration to us all in many ways. She began protesting for peace in San Francisco during the Vietnam War in the late 1960s and early 1970s. She also marched in three women’s marches in Sacramento, California at the ages of 97, 98, and 99 with her daughters and granddaughter – three generations marching for peace together.
We also thanked our Aunt Jean Windell (Lollie’s sister) for sponsoring our family Peace Pole.
Our Peace Pole has the phrases: May Peace Prevail in Our Hearts, May Peace Prevail in Our Homes, May Peace Prevail in Our Community, and May Peace Prevail On Earth. It also includes a Rainbow Unity Flag, and a Veterans for Peace logo. We planted it near the road so people driving by, and the many walkers, can enjoy it as well.
I asked family participants to share what peace means to them, and how they express peace in their life and community.
Haley, a Veterinary Technician who grew up at Lake of the Pines, shared what peace means to her. “To me, peace is more than the absence of conflict. It is a daily choice to lead with kindness, patience, understanding and acceptance. I express peace in my life by treating others with respect and compassion, regardless of their background, beliefs, or identity…I believe peace grows through small acts of kindness and courage, and when we choose acceptance over judgment, and love over fear, we help build a more compassionate and united world.”
Erik, a Retired Peace Officer and Detective in the San Francisco Bay Area, shared “After spending a career working with people that are always in conflict, things like this help change people’s hearts, and start their day out with peace and kindness, versus conflict and violence.”
Then I shared: “For me, peace begins within us, then is expressed between us. I express peace in my communities by planting and dedicating our Lake of the Pines Peace Pole, planting and dedicating a Peace Pole in my Community Garden in West Sacramento, California, and planting and dedicating a Peace Pole at West Sacramento City Hall, along with celebrating the Proclamation declaring West Sacramento a City of Peace. And I continue to express peace by being a Peace Pole Activist, the Steward of the Peace Pole Gardens Project, and as a volunteer guiding other people and organizations to plant and celebrate their own Peace Poles.
We wrapped up by handing out May Peace Prevail On Earth buttons, and reminding everyone to continue to hold peace in our hearts, our thoughts, and our actions.
Susan Rueppel
Peace Pole Activist & Peace Pole Gardens Project Steward