Other Observances of the Atomic Bombings

In addition to The Crane Project, the chapter has held other events to note the 40th, 50th and 60th anniversaries of the atomic bombings. In 1985, the chapter held an ecumenical worship service featuring a talk by Rev. Gordon Cosby of the Church of the Savior in Washington, DC, and members drew chalk shadows on the sidewalks of Annapolis to reflect the human shadows that were burnt into the streets of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In 1995, the chapter sponsored a visit by Hiroshima survivor Miyoko Matsubara. A videotape of her presentation was distributed to every public high school and middle school in the county as well as to some private schools. In 2005, the chapter floated luminaries containing expressions of hope for world peace on Stoney Creek in Pasadena as a statement of remembrance for the victims of war and violence. This event was based on an annual ceremony in Hiroshima on the anniversary of the bombing. Lanterns are floated down the city's river in symbolic respect for those who were killed by the nuclear blast. In the picture, St. John Martin, Joan Urbas (c) and Christine Walti prepare the luminaries that were used.