Girl Scouts contribute to library redesign

LYNDEBOROUGH – When the J.A. Tarbell Library is enlarged within the next year or two, the Common in South Village will have to be re-designed and landscaped. The two war memorials currently on the library lawn will be moved to the near-by common and placed somewhere near the flag pole.

The town’s Junior Girl Scouts want to be included in that redesign as part of their quest for a Bronze Award, and they would like to make a Peace Pole part of the new design.

Four girls and their leaders approached the Board of Selectmen on Monday with their ideas.

“We’ve been working toward this for a couple of years,” scout leader Judy Sanders said. “The girls need 15 hours of community service as part of the award. We need an agreement about the Peace Pole.”

The Peace Pole Project is a project of the international group World Peace Prayer Society. The poles are up to eight feet high, six to eight inches square, with the message “May peace prevail on Earth,” on each of its four or six sides, usually written in different languages. Outdoors, poles are typically set into the ground. Interior poles are placed on movable bases. They are usually made of local hard wood, but may be made of metal or plastic, according to the World Peace Prayer Society.

There are more than 200,000 Peace Poles worldwide and each pole links its location with the rest of the world in a prayer for peace.

They are usually placed with an appropriate ceremony. Peace Poles have been dedicated by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama, according to the World Peace Prayer Society.

The Selectmen said they had little to do with care of the Common, since that had been under the care of the Lyndeborough Improvement Society for many years. When that group recently disbanded, they left a trust fund for the care of the Common. Neighbor Dayze Smith has cared for the grass and plants for the past several years.

The girls were directed to the Trustees of the Library to discuss the moving of the monuments.

Sanders said, “We would like to be part of the planning process.”

Selectman Chairman Lorraine Strube said, “This is a great project for the girls to work on, and we will discuss it further.”