A Foreword by NAL publisher Doug Draper
I have got to be honest. I had my doubts, at first, whether remembering a blood, 200-year-old conflict between what was then a fledgling United States republic and an Upper and Lower Canada still under the yoke of the British Empire was a great way to “celebrate 200 years of peace.”
Americans and Canadians gather together at Georgia Peace Garden Ceremony for War of 1812
Yet the more I watch this bicentennial of the War of 1812 unfold, the more I come to the conclusion that this is one great way for two of the friendliest democracies in the world realise how fortunate we are to inhabit a continent together. My wife and I crossed the gaborder a few days ago, as we do almost every one or two weeks of the year, and we did the usual grumbling about wait times at homeland security and customs. But that is bullshit compared to what other parts of the world have to go through.
We are fortunate, we Canadians and Americans are, that we have this bond, although some on the extremes may not agree.
Here, this past July 4 in Georgia, in the community of St. Marys, the folks in that community dedicated a ‘Peace Garden’ to remember those who fought and died on both sides in the War of 1812.
Here is a submission from the Canada/U.S. Binational Business and Tourism Committee on this event.
Buffalo/Niagara/Georgia – On Wednesday, July 4, dignitaries from Canada and the U.S.
joined community leaders in St. Marys Georgia to dedicate their 1812 Binational Heritage Peace Garden. St. Marys Garden is now the 10th of 23 Canadian and U.S. Peace Gardens that make up the new Binational Heritage Peace Garden Trail: a special initiative to commemorate the Bicentennial of the War of 1812 and 200 years of peace between Canada and the U.S.
The Georgia War of 1812 Peace Garrden
St. Marys is Georgia’s southernmost coastal city, and is the first Binational Peace Garden to be located beyond the Southern Great Lakes. This community has many binational stories to share, from its Acadian history to the War of 1812 Battle of Point Peter that took place between January 11 and 15, 1815.
The garden, originally the St. Marys EarthKeepers Memory Garden, is situated next to historic Oak Grove Cemetery. It will be dedicated at 1 p.m. with a number of guests including Binational Alliance Executive Director Arlene White from Niagara, Canada, Robert Pengelly, Consul from the Canadian Consulate General in Atlanta, State Representative Jason Spencer, R-Woodbine, Civic, Business and Tourism Leaders, and a Navy Color Guard. Both countries’ national anthems will be sung, and permanent signage for the garden will be unveiled.
According to Alex Kearns, Chair of the St. Marys EarthKeepers and coodinator of the St. Marys Peace Garden project “This effort represents a wonderful economic and tourism opportunity for all of the communities involved. St. Marys has a deep connection to Canada through our history and our tourists and we celebrate this chance to further strengthen those ties by celebrating 200 years of mutual peace and cooperation between nations.”
Beyond the Binational Peace Garden Trail, St. Marys Peace Garden is also paired with one in Fort Erie, Ontario, located along the Niagara River, at the mouth of Lake Erie, and the site of some of the most significant battles of the War of 1812. Old Fort Erie, one of Canada’s historic sites operated by the Niagara Parks Commission, dedicated their Peace Garden on June 29 at the launch of the 26th Annual Binational Friendship Festival, with recognition of the special sister city relationship that has come about as a result of the Peace Garden initiative.
“The 1812 Bicentennial was definitely the catalyst for this project. When we began in 2008, we had no idea how many communities would be interested in creating peace gardens or if we would have enough gardens to make a trail. But by 2010 the initiative had grown beyond the binational Niagara Region to communities across the Southern Great Lakes. With the inclusion of St. Marys, we have far exceeded our initial vision, and now anticipate more peace gardens along the Eastern seaboard and new opportunities to demonstrate our shared history and the many trade and tourism connections we have binationally throughout the U.S. and Canada”, advises Arlene White, Executive Director of the Binational Alliance, and Project Lead for this initiative. “We expect more than 60 bicentennial themed gardens will be launched by 2014, and we will continue to work with binational communities to create new peace gardens with a variety of binational peace themes in 2015 and beyond.”
Other Peace Gardens being dedicated on the trail this year include:
May 27 Victor, NY
June 1 Burt, NY
June 15 Leamington, ON
June 16 Grimsby, ON, Sacket’s Harbor, NY
June 21 Tecumseh, ON
June 29 Fort Erie, ON
June 29 Youngstown, NY
July 19 Windsor, ON
July 20 Colchester, ON
July 22 Lancaster, NY
Aug 9 Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
Aug (tbd) Lewiston, NY
Aug 26 Black Rock, Buffalo, NY
Sept 1 Winery, Colchester, ON
Sept 8 Olde Sandwich Towne, Windsor, ON
Sept 15 Kingsville, ON
Sept 22 Botanical Gardens, Buffalo NY
Sept (tbd) Niagara University, NY
Sept (tbd) Thamesville, ON
Oct 13 Amherstburg, ON – 2 sites
Go to http://NAL July 4 to learn more about this legacy project.
(Niagara At Large invites you to share your thoughts on this post.)
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