03/18/2007
War protesters line up in Delco  
By: PATTI MENGERS , pmengers@delcotimes.com  

More than 230 years ago, Baltimore Pike was, in effect, a road to revolution, providing access to Philadelphia for
some of the southern signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Saturday, one of the most historic highways in the United States became what more than 200 demonstrators hoped
would be a road to peace.


From 1-2:15 p.m. at 16 intersections along Baltimore Pike in Delaware County, pacifists displayed placards and
distributed fliers calling for an end to the almost 4-year-old war in Iraq.

"It was great considering the challenge the (Friday) ice storm dropped on Delaware County. We had at least 206
people from the border of Chester County to Philadelphia County," said Terry Rumsey, chairman of Delaware
County Wage Peace & Justice.

The Media resident and his wife, Robin Lasersohn, were among the organizers of the 20-mile-long peace vigil that
drew groups ranging from six to more than 50 at corners in Middletown, Media, Springfield and Lansdowne, among
other municipalities.

"It was the first U.S. highway and it is really interesting to think it runs from Maine to Florida. It unifies Delaware
County, but it really unifies the East Coast of the U.S.," noted Lasersohn.

Their aim was to reach as many Americans as possible in communicating the need to end the Iraq war which was
declared by George W. Bush March 19, 2003, on the premise that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was harboring
weapons of mass destruction. Those weapons have yet to be found, but over 3,200 American troops have died. In
January, Bush announced he was sending 21,500 more.

Rumsey estimated that tens of thousands of Saturday shoppers drove by the 75-minute peace vigil that was held
on icy pavements but under sunny skies. Most motorists sounded their horns or flashed peace signs in response to
such placards as "End the War", "Not Another Death, Not Another Dollar" and "Honk to Impeach." A few opened
their car windows and chastised the demonstrators.

At the corner of Baltimore Pike and Route 252, an Iraq war veteran told 78-year-old peace activist Robin Harper of
Nether Providence he thought American troops should remain in the embattled country.

At Baltimore Pike and Springfield Road, a lady refused literature from Bryn Mawr Peace Coalition member Monique
Frugier, because, she told Frugier, she was "for the military."

"They don't understand, we are not against the military," said the 62-year-old Haverford Township hairdresser. "It is
because I support them that I want them back alive - alive!"
A French native of Morocco, Frugier moved to the United States from Paris in 1968, and has been an American
citizen since 1986. She was 8 months old when her own father was killed fighting for France in World War II.

"At least that war was legal. We were fighting an invasion.

This war is a big lie, a big lie," said Frugier, who believes Bush should not be allowed to finish his term.

Steve Olshewsky, who was stationed at Baltimore Pike and Route 320, said people of all ages were joining the vigil
right up until the end.

"I saw some who were 13 years old and I know of at least one who was 80 years old," said the 48-year-old
Swarthmore resident.

An accounting professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, Olshewsky advocates legislative action to end
funding for the war.

"As an accounting professor, I would know. When you cut off the funds, the war will end," said Olshewsky.

The main theme of the vigil was a legislative one said David Gibson, Pennsylvania coordinator for United for Peace
& Justice and Chester/Delaware County organizer of the Coalition for Peace Action.

"We want to fund the troops home and that will enable the international community to help the Iraqis," said the
50-year-old Lansdowne resident.

Bill Belanger, 63, of Middletown, who was a radiation physicist for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for 30
years, said a change in strategy to the war is necessary. Saturday, he was stationed at Baltimore Pike and Route
252.

"We are trying to force democracy. Instead of imposing our will, we need a strategy on how to get out. It's not to pull
out instantly, but if we change our goals, it will happen," said Belanger, a member of Providence Friends Meeting.

After the vigil, several participants adjourned to the Springfield Friends Meeting House, headquarters for the Peace
Center of Delaware County, where Tom Mullian of Media gave a short guitar concert. Last May he released an
album of original songs, "Six Strings Against the War."

Tonight, Mullian expects to be at a 6:30 p.m. candlelight vigil for peace sponsored by the Brandywine Peace
Community at the United Methodist Church, Broad and Arch streets, in Philadelphia.

The positive feedback of Saturday's vigil was encouraging to 54-year-old Sue Cannon, a history and English
teacher at Episcopal Academy, who said even truck and bus drivers were giving her the "thumbs-up".

"People are waking up to the travesty of this war," she said.