Fourteen people thought that it was important to leave the comfort of their own homes to come to the Vivian McLean Park in the Delridge neighborhood of Puget Ridge to spend five minutes standing for peace.

A movement begun by Ohio women from the book "The Great Silent Grandmother Gathering" caught the imagination of these people and many others across the planet. Seventy-two groups met in the state of Washington. The five minutes began with the ringing of a crystal bell and concluded with its being rung once again. Next the Mother's Day Proclamation written by Julia Ward Howe in 1870 was read.

This was a call to all women to not send their sons to foreign nations to kill other women's sons. It just may be more of a tribute to her writing ability than her famous hymn "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."

Cheryl G. Banks

Delridge