Brandon Sun - PRINT EDITION
“To God in His Glory. We two nations dedicate this Garden and pledge ourselves that as long as man shall live, we will not take up arms against one another.”
<*R><BI>— Written on the stone cairn at the entrance
to the International Peace Garden
The International Peace Garden has been an enduring and powerful symbol of peace and friendship between the United States and Canada since it was officially opened in 1932.
The site, which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, is located on 2,400 acres of land donated by Manitoba and North Dakota.
At the peak of the growing season, the grounds of the formal garden’s terraced walkways sport more than 150,000 flowers in an array of colourful floral displays. And in a recent addition to the garden, visitors can take in the new Interpretive Centre and Conservatory, which houses a year-round tropical garden.
But it was the garden’s memorial of twisted steel girders from the former site of the World Trade Center twin towers in New York City that drew the ire of a St. Paul resident in Tuesday’s edition of the Winnipeg Free Press.
In his column on the paper’s editorial page, former North Dakotan James G. Skakoon suggested that the “gruesome” memorial to 9/11 was out of place within the Peace Garden.
“September 11 and its aftermath represent religious zealotry, terrorism, revenge, destruction, political strife, military and civilian casualties, hatred and war,” he wrote. “And yes, heroism, service, bravery and loss as well. One peace-like word, co-operation, applies to the western world’s response to 9/11.
“What 9/11 has to do with peace is beyond me. Visitors to the International Peace Garden should not have to be reminded of terrorism, hatred and war.”
Mr. Skakoon is certainly entitled to his opinion. To be fair, having visitors exposed to twisted steel girders from one of the most horrific acts of terrorism in history nestled in what was meant to be a peaceful, garden setting is a jarring concept to be sure.
But in our opinion, the memorial isn’t entirely out of place.
On its website, the Manitoba Historical Society writes that Dr. Henry J. Moore originally conceived of the International Peace Garden as a place “where the people of the two countries could share the glories found in a lovely garden and the pleasures found in warm friendship.”
Moore’s idea was to create a living memorial to everlasting peace between two nations — a thing of supreme beauty and an inspiration to the hearts of all humanity, that would celebrate peaceful coexistence between our two nations. It would illustrate to the world our commitment to world peace.
In many ways, says the historical society, the intent of the early visionaries of this garden was to create a second “Garden of Eden.”
What happened on Sept. 11, 2001, indeed had little to do with peace. Approximately 3,000 people lost their lives when terrorists slammed hijacked passenger planes into the twin towers that fateful morning.
But Skakoon was wrong when he said the memorial idealized hatred, religious zealotry and war. It was built as a reminder of a terrible human tragedy, and as a comfort to those who lost family and friends.
In fact, the final design for the 9/11 memorial was created by two landscape architecture students from North Dakota State University who won a competition organized by the associate dean of faculty of architecture at the University of Manitoba. At its core, their design had a message of “recall, reflect, remember, understand, forgive and grow.”
This is especially appropriate with the 11th anniversary of the terrorist bombing less than a week away.
Perhaps, as Mr. Skakoon argues, the memorial does bring back memories of horrific evil to this reborn Garden of Eden. However, it is the reality of human existence that we cannot truly understand peace, without first having an act of war.
And thanks in part to the 9/11 memorial, the International Peace Garden is no longer just a memorial to peaceful co-existence — it can be a sacred place where those affected by the events of Sept. 11 can hopefully find peace and note the friendship of their neighbours.
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition September 5, 2012
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“To God in His Glory. We two nations dedicate this Garden and pledge ourselves that as long as man shall live, we will not take up arms against one another.”
<*R><BI>— Written on the stone cairn at the entrance
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“To God in His Glory. We two nations dedicate this Garden and pledge ourselves that as long as man shall live, we will not take up arms against one another.”
<*R><BI>— Written on the stone cairn at the entrance
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