Libertyville Sunrise Rotary peace pole donation to be installed soon in Cook Park

Cook Park is the center of community activities in downtown Libertyville. But a coming attraction is meant to give pause and prompt reflection on the message.

Etched into the four sides of an 8-foot-tall aluminum pole, the words “May Peace Prevail on Earth” are written in eight languages — two per side. The peace pole is to be installed in a few weeks.

The peace pole is a gift to the village by Libertyville Sunrise Rotary Club as part of Rotary International’s initiative to recognize the international Peace Pole Project.

Howard Jaffe, a 34-year member and chair/treasurer of the Libertyville Sunrise Rotary Club’s charitable foundation, made the pitch to the village board, which officially accepted the donation Aug. 11.

“This would be not only a beautiful art project to be displayed but a learning project the schools can rally behind and participate in,” he said at the time. “We’re ready to go.”

With the official green light, a husband-wife team in Missouri was selected to fabricate the pole. It was recently completed and is boxed in Jaffe’s garage awaiting village installation. A dedication is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 14.

“We’re going to invite the whole community to the dedication,” Jaffe said. “The timing couldn’t be better given what’s going on” in the world, he added.

The concept was acceptable but there were considerations as Rotary members selected which eight languages from dozens of choices should be displayed.

The group shied away from anything that might have presented political issues or put the village in a position to intervene, Jaffe said.

The selected languages are: English, Spanish, Japanese, Greek, Polish, Potawatomie, Swahili, and Hindi, he said.

“In these very challenging times the concept of a peace pole globally and locally is a good concept (but) we don’t want to offend anybody,” said Mayor Donna Johnson.

Safety and visibility in the busy park along Milwaukee Avenue were other considerations, she said.

“It’s a good thing to support peace and the concept of peace and that is what this represents,” Johnson said. “Peace is important.”

There are countless peace poles worldwide.

In Lake County, Libertyville will join Highland Park, which installed eight — seven for the victims and one for the survivors of the July 4, 2022, shootings — Ela Township and Lake Zurich school campuses as locations.

Also, in late September, village officials joined members of the Buffalo Grove Rotary Club to dedicate a peace pole with 12 languages at the Ernie Karge Rotary Village Green.

mzawislak@dailyherald.com