Background on how I met Glen:
I moved to Olympia, WA from Omaha, NE for a job in July 1976. In Omaha I had volunteered with The Peace Center and United Nations Association. In early 1977, I was at an event at Seattle Center and a man was tabling for United Nations Association. His name was Milton Carr, a Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) activist. I talked to him for awhile and he told me I needed to get in touch with Glen Anderson in Lacey who had started up an FOR chapter in the Capitol area, and he introduced me to FOR which I joined. I then called and met Glen and became a good friend of his and FOR activist with him on many efforts for peace and justice up to the present. In the late 70’s issues included the MX Missile weapons system, military spending, and the Trident Missile System that Jim and Shelly Douglas organized against and got Seattle Archbishop Hunthausen to speak out against it calling it the “Auschwitz of Puget Sound”. Hunthausen was joined by Lutheran Peace Activist and Lutheran Pastor Jon Nelson at protests against Trident. Glen put out a monthly FOR Newsletter on Peace and Justice Issues while involved with FOR. Its distribution reached 500 readers.
Glen and the Olympia Local Peace and justice efforts he initiated with FOR and others:
In the late 1970’s, Nuclear Power Plants were on the drawing board for Hanford, Satsop and the Skagit River and this provided an opportunity to organize around. Glen joined other activists concerned with the economics of nuclear power and worked with a group, Fair Electric Rates Now, where he met other life- long friends. Many with Glen formed Growth Talk, challenging gentrification and environmental impacts of expansion.
In the 1980’s, Glen began weekly peace vigils in downtown Olympia at noon time and brought signs or people could bring their own. This vigil continues to this day, every Wednesday regardless of weather or holiday. Efforts continued on Nuclear Weapons and opposition to the Trident Sub Base and transport of missile mounts and weapons on “white trains”. A major national effort we participated in was the Nuclear Weapons Freeze campaign, and we had local ballot initiatives on the Freeze and Opposition to military aid to Central America, Witness for Peace efforts and Thurston County /Santo Tomas, Nicaragua sister county association and community partnering.
For 5 years Glen served on the National FOR Council where he promoted a focus on local efforts and grassroots organizing. He held many local workshops on how to organize at the local level.
Glen also organized an Ecumenical Peace Coalition with members of 6 faith communities to work on peace and justice efforts here locally. Once our local Congressman wanted to address us and we initially said “No” until he agreed not to campaign, but instead to talk about potential efforts for peace and human rights. Glen was a conscientious objector to war and received Conscientious Objector status during the Vietnam War, and he did draft counseling and counseled people applying for Conscientious Objector status.
In 1980, Glen and I worked on the Democratic party County and State Platforms and got some good planks in it, but they were ignored at the national level.
Glen had a good sense of humor and we had fun applying for a large federal grant for education against drugs and planned to use it for a major conference exploring Oliver North and the Reagan Administration’s Contra Guns for Drugs Deals as a way to help prevent drugs entering the US. The application was very well written and should have been approved, but it was not, and when not approved we laughed and laughed because the truth was not allowed to see the light of day.
In 1990, we had the Bush Sr. Oil War against Iraq and that became a major focus in works for peace and in our community. Focus shifted to the Middle East.
In the 1990’s, we had the war in the former Yugoslavia and we hosted 9 Ethnic Muslim students in the FOR Bosnian Student program for several years. We challenged the Clinton Administration bombing in that war as nonviolent alternatives were the cornerstone. This effort were spearheaded by Glen and coordinated by Pam Crocker Davis. We continued to work to Abolish the Death Penalty in WA. Glen spearheaded this as well, and we vigiled at the State Capitol, especially on execution days and nights.
In 2001, we had September 11 and Bush Jr.’s War against Iraq and Afghanistan with Shock and Awe. Glen, FOR and others organized marches, and Glen organized peacemaker workshops. At one workshop he connected with college student Rachel Corrie, and she would stick around to clean up the room where we met and follow peace marches and pick up any trash dropped and engage us elders in deep conversation. She and other FOR members worked on Peace Doves calling for peace in Olympia’s Earth Day Procession of the Species. Glen helped organize meetings to respond when we learned she had been killed in Rafah by the Israeli military March 16, 2003.
In the 2000s, Glen worked to reduce militarism and military spending and connected with Vets for Peace over unending wars in Afghanistan. In 2003, Glen helped organize a Friday evening Peace Vigil 4:30-6:00 PM on Percival landing at the Southern tip of the Salish Sea where he had held Holiday Peace Vigils in December to focus on possibilities of Peace and to say “No” to more war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Vigil was joined on Fridays and Holidays by a marching band, The Artesian Rumble Arkestra, for a joyful peace witness. These Friday vigils continue to this day, regardless of weather, with a focus on Gaza.
Glen also hosted a monthly FOR TV show on the local access TV channel that explored peace and justice opportunity efforts. He continued this in his Parallax Perspective, and shows are available on his blog of the same name.
He and other local FOR members took nonviolence peacekeeper training and became peace keepers at other organization marches upon their request.
The regular vigils have had a major effect on attitudes toward war and peace in Olympia and strong support from the public is shown by 70% of those that pass by.
Another major effort Glen helped organize was a FOR Climate Action Committee that has marches through town and rallies at the State Capitol and workshops. He continued with this Climate Action education starting in 2014, outreaching with zoom workshops and educating high school climate activists. This continued till the present. Glen left as coordinator of Olympia FOR in 2019 and concentrated on the TV shows and his blog, organized and coordinated Olympians to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and gave zoom workshops on peace and organizing for a nonviolent world.
Since 1976 Bob Ziegler has been a peace, justice, human rights and climate activist in Olympia working with a friend, Glen Anderson. Recently he has been working on solidarity with immigrants, native peoples, and nuclear weapon abolition.
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