Peace Pilgrim - Egg Harbor City, NJ
N 39° 32.172 W 074° 38.539
18S E 530737 N 4376343
A local sign of history tells the story about a remarkable lady of peace at a park dedicated to her and her ideals of peace. The sign is in the dirt in front of the metal fence that surrounds the park to the left of the gate.
Waymark Code: WM9588
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 06/30/2010
Views: 3
This park is maintained by the Friends of Peace Pilgrim in her memory. Born Mildred Lisette Norman in Egg Harbor City, this site promotes the ideals of a remarkable woman. The park is located across the street from the Roundhouse museum. On July 12, 2005 a park in her hometown of Egg Harbor City, New Jersey was renamed and dedicated in memory of Peace Pilgrim. In attendance were her sister Helene and friends from near and far as well as many local citizens.
The sign of history reads:
PEACE PILGRIM
Mildred Lisette Norman Ryder
Peace Pilgrim, born in Egg Harbor City on July 18, grew up on the family farm on the 300-block of Baltimore Avenue. She attended Egg Harbor High School and and was the valedictorian for the 1926 graduating class. Fifteen years of preparation and inner seeking were followed by her decision to dedicate her life to working for peace.
Equipped with her moral character, a positive attitude and her spirituality, on January 1, 1953, she embarked on a pilgrimage for peace that lasted 28 years and took her to the four corners of the United States, Canada and Mexico. She walked alone and penniless and with no organizational backing. She vowed to remain a wanderer until mankind learned the way of peace. With just the clothes on her back, a toothbrush, comb and a pair of sneakers, she walked and spread her message of peace to anyone who would listen: "Overcome evil with good, falsehood with truth and hatred with love." In 1964, after walking 25,000, she stopped counting miles and speaking became her first priority.
On July 7, 1981, while crossing the country for the seventh for the seventh time, Peace Pilgrim made the "glorious transition to a freer life." She is buried in Germania Cemetery in Galloway Township.
"I never want people to remember me except in connection with peace."
From a previous waymark
Recently, Egg Harbor City, through the efforts of Peace Pilgrim Centennial Celebration Committee, celebrated her 100th birthday. From the site:
"Peace Pilgrim Centennial Birthday Committee of Egg Harbor City, New Jersey celebrated what would have been Peace Pilgrim's 100th birthday on July 18-19, 2008. Events included a showing of a documentary about Peace Pilgrim at the Charles L. Spragg School, the innaugural Peace Pilgrim 100, a 2-mile intergenerational walk for peace, and an old fashioned community picnic at Peace Pilgrim Park. The event ended with the formation of a human peace sign."
SOURCE
The park features a serpentine waterway. Check it out on Google Earth; it is pretty neat. There is also a memorial/explanation marker, a gazebo, several picnic benches, a peace pole, a butterfly garden, a really cool individual and hand-made tiled area on top of a cement platform upon which rests a statue of Peace Pilgrim and a lot of grass to walk around. The entire park is gated in by a fence.