100 years is now in the books for the Mineola-Garden City Rotary Club are marked with a tree and a symbol of peace.
”We wanted something that was going to be relevant and significant and to be seen,” said Althea Robinson, the publicity chair of the Mineola-Garden City Rotary Club, about the centennial. “A tree here and a peace pole there works out.”
Peace poles are internationally recognized symbols of hope, according to the Peace Pole Project, which supports the installation of peace poles worldwide. Over 250,000 have been placed, at least one in every country, as dedicated monuments to peace.
In looking for a way to commemorate their centennial properly, Robinson said the club reached out to both the mayor of Garden City and Mineola to ask what token of remembrance they would be open to accepting from the club. She said Garden City chose to accept a tree from the group, but when she approached Mineola, another member suggested the club offer to place a peace pole in the village.
“When I spoke to the mayor of Mineola, I said, ‘We donated the tree to Garden City. Would you like a tree?’ I also offered the option of the peace pole, and he thought the peace pole would be something they would rather have,’” said Robinson, who has been a part of the club for 38 years.
In Mineola’s Memorial Park, the pole reads “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in eight different languages, including Portuguese, as the village is home to a large Portuguese population. Robinson said the club’s goal was to put the pole in a location that would be seen by as many people as possible.
“It was placed near a path that many students take all the time,” Robinson said. “It’s very, very visible. It makes us feel good to know that it’s going to be seen.”
Making a donation to mark their anniversary is a fitting act for the Rotary Club, whose motto is “Service Above Self.”
“We try to perform a different service for each month of the year,” Robinson said. “We’ve been doing food drives, clothing drives, working with different veterans associations, the interfaith nutrition network. We mark every month with service.”
Robinson said she thought the 100-year markers were fitting for each of the villages that their club calls home.
“We’re very happy to have a tree in Garden City and a peace pole in Mineola,” she continued. “That certainly is our celebration of 100 years.”
