SAN LUIS OBISPO — The city of San Luis Obispo and four Rotary clubs came together Tuesday to plant the city's first "Peace Pole" in Mission Plaza as a symbol of unity and goodwill.
The message "May Peace Prevail on Earth" is transcribed across the pole in eight different languages that have special ties to San Luis Obispo.
"Well, I believe that our Peace Pole is special because it shows the origins of our community. We've started out with the Chumash, who are the stewards of our land here and still live among us, and we respect that. Every language here represents some culture who has come into our community to shape who we are," Michele Murfin said.
The languages represented on the pole are English, yak titʸu titʸu yak tiłhini Northern Chumash, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Portuguese and Italian.
Murfin, representing Rotary de Tolosa, said there are peace poles across the world, with over 250,000 in the U.S.
The San Luis Obispo Youth Symphony and the Central Coast Youth Choir marked the occasion with a performance of John Lennon's "Imagine."
