Elgin Rotarians erect Peace Pole in Veterans Park
The Rotary Clubs of Elgin hosted a recognition ceremony for veterans Tuesday at Veterans Memorial Park along the Fox River where volunteers dedicated a Peace Pole.
The pole was designed and constructed by Greg Karr, a founding member of the Elgin Breakfast Rotary Club.
It is square column made of aluminum mesh grating with "May Peace Prevail on Earth" etched on each side in four languages, including Braille, the international peace symbol, and Potawatomi.
"I wanted to pay homage to the Native Americans who settled the Fox River (Valley)," said Karr, 59, a retired dentist from St. Charles.
The mesh structure encloses 196 rocks that Karr sandblasted with the two-letter abbreviation for every country in the world.
"Every country is represented by a rock inside the enclosure," he said.
Karr and other volunteers were recognized Tuesday for their countless hours of hard work and dedication designing and crafting the pole, first envisioned by the Elgin Breakfast Rotary Club in 1999.
Peace Pole International promotes peace worldwide through the message "May Peace Prevail on Earth" etched in various languages on 100,000 peace poles worldwide, just like the one in Elgin. Elgin Rotary Clubs promoted and donated funds in the hope of furthering that vision.
"The total donations that we made to the Veterans Memorial Park - which included benches, a garden, pole construction and monies to finish the park - was $30,000," said Alan Kirk, president of the Elgin Breakfast Rotary Club.
The pole was installed Saturday just north of Gail Borden Public Library. Tuesday's ceremony included a presentation by members of the American Legion Post No. 57 color guard and a proclamation by Elgin Mayor David Kaptain.