Center for Archival Collections

Introduction | Agency History | Scope and Content | Series Description | Inventory

Introduction

The fabric segments of the Peace Ribbon Project, Northwest Ohio were donated and transferred to the Center for Archival Collections by Joanna Baker Russ on March 15, 1989.

No restrictions exist on the research use of this collection and duplication is permitted for research purposes. The collection was arranged and described by Marilyn Levinson, Curator of Manuscripts in June 2004.

Agency History

The idea for the Peace Ribbon was originated in 1982 when Justine Merritt of Denver, Colorado, proposed the grassroots project to create fabric pieces on the theme "What I cannot bear to think of as lost forever in a nuclear war." The challenge was taken up by numerous Church groups and individuals around the country, who created roughly 25,000 cloth segments in a variety of appliqué, quilting, painted, and embroidered formats which were eventually tied together as part of a demonstration on August 4, 1985, the 40th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, stretching the ribbon around the Pentagon and other public buildings in Washington, D.C. The segments in this collection were created by various groups and individuals around Ohio, primarily in Northwest Ohio.

Scope and Content

The fabric segments of the Peace Ribbon Project, Northwest Ohio represent a variety of formats from painted fabric, quilting, appliqué, and embroidery created for the national project by Church groups around the state. Some groups identified on the pieces include First United Methodist Church in Norwalk, High Street United Methodist Church in Fostoria, Clyde Christian Church, the Ursuline Convent in Toledo, and children's art program classes at BGSU. Some of the segments have personal identifications, but many have no attribution at all.

Series Description

ARTIFACTS

RIBBON SEGMENTS
1985
Fabric segments created by various church, social, and local groups in Ohio intended to be tied together and displayed in the organized event "Tie a Ribbon around the Pentagon" marking the 40th anniversary in August 1985 of the bombing of Hiroshima.

Inventory

Box 1

1. "Peace on earth" - St. Timothy's Primary Sunday School
2. Williamsport U.M. Church
3. Morrow County C .W. I.
4. "Let peace begin with me" - [chc]
5. "Isaiah 11:6" - United Methodist Women,1st United Methodist Church, Norwalk
6. "Our children" - Immaculate Conception Parish School, Columbus
7. [Cat] - Dorothy F. Fischer, Columbus
8. "United for Peace" - Emmanuel United Methodist Women, East Palestine, Ohio
9. [Rainbow] - Toledo, Ohio
10. [Rainbow] - BGSU Saturday Art Program, ages 10 & 11
11. "Land of liberty" - Jackson, Ohio
12. [Rainbow] - BGSU, Art 343
13. Worthington Area Peace Coalition, Worthington, Ohio
14. "Peace" - St. Aloysius-St. Stephen Grade 8, Republic, Ohio
15. [Butterfly] - Yellow Springs, Ohio
16. [Seagulls] - Toledo, Ohio
17. [Rainbow] - Bay United Methodist Church, Bay Village, Ohio
18. [Flowers] - Marge Kolinski, Toledo, Ohio
19. [Trees] - Immaculate Conception, Columbus, Ohio
20. "Together let us bring peace" - Bedford, Ohio
21. "Fostoria, Ohio, 1st Presbyterian Church"
22. "Protect life, ban the bomb" - High St. United Methodist Church, Fostoria, Ohio
23. "Waverly, Ohio"
24. [Rainbow] - Ohio
25. "Love one another" - Clyde Christian Church, Clyde, Ohio
26. "World peace" - Cleveland
27. [Storefront, 1921] - Cleveland, Ohio
28. [Teddy bear] - Ohio
29. "Plant flowers, not missiles" - First United Methodist, Elyria, Ohio
30. "Creative expression of children" - BGSU Saturday Art Program, ages 1-3
31. "Creative expression of children" - BGSU Saturday Art Program, ages 4-7
32. Peter K. Herman, Bowling Green, Ohio
33. [Music] - Paula Steiner, Bowling Green, Ohio
34. "A guide to peace" - Sisters of St. Joseph, Garfield Heights, Ohio
35. "Family tree" - Cincinnati, Ohio
36. "Teach peace" - Columbus, Ohio
37. "The Prince of Peace brings us mercy, justice, truth" - Sister M. Teresita Manner, Ursuline Convent, Toledo, Ohio

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