On a recent Sunday afternoon, Evelyn and Jim Dette stood at Weehawken’s Soldiers and Sailors monument in Hamilton Park overlooking the town’s waterfront. They held signs up to the passing traffic saying, “Honk for Peace.”
The married duo represent the Weehawken Citizens for Peace, a local group that demonstrates to promote world peace. Formed during the Vietnam War, the group originally featured a larger contingent of locals concerned about that conflict. They are welcoming the involvement of others.
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“We really need peace.” – Evelyn Dette
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They also participated in the town’s annual Memorial Day parade for at least three years during this time. However, in later years, Weehawken Citizens for Peace’s numbers sharply dwindled. Today, only the Dettes remain, coming to the monument at least twice a month to keep promoting non-violence.
“We really need peace,” Evelyn said, as passing cars honked on JFK Boulevard East. “The world seems to be falling apart. There’s so many things we’re having trouble with in this county. But when you read the paper, you see other countries in the world have the same problem too.”
“We started as just people just opposed to the war,” said Jim, who served in the Air Force during the Korean War.
One evening during the Vietnam War in the late 1960s, a friend of Jim’s called. A neighbor of hers was planning to start a candlelight vigil for peace at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. Jim grabbed a candle in his kitchen.
“I joined her, more people joined us,” Jim said. “We did it every Friday. And then we got all these people who joined.”
Eventually, the growing group made a list of people who supported their cause, and that marked the beginning of the WCFP. The collective even elected a leadership and spokesperson for their cause. While the candlelight vigils continued, WCFP began planning another course of action, meeting inside their homes.
“Some of the members wanted to open a peace center,” Jim said. The group began seeking a location. They found one on Park Avenue, around 50th Street. Named “The Community Store,” it opened in November 1970.
The “store” didn’t sell anything; rather, it served as a meeting place, and also helped mediate problems locals may have had, such as rent issues. It also doubled as a recycling center, the couple said. The store provided support for local parents’ councils. The Weehawken Environment Committee formed as an offshoot of the store, which remained open for several years.
“We just make our showing here,” Evelyn said. “Of course, people have seen us. We don’t make a specific time of when we will be here. Because we’re no longer full of energy like we were.”
The two don’t currently have any plans to take their movement beyond their demonstrations. However, Evelyn added, “If other people wanted to take it over, that would be another matter. But with the same focus – peace.”
The two also gave their take on President Trump’s proposal to route $54 billion in spending for the 2017 federal budget towards defense.
“He talks about infrastructure, that’s one place he could spend it,” Jim said. “But spending it on the military is a dead end.”
“We certainly need healthcare for everybody,” Evelyn added, referencing the president’s failed healthcare replacement bill last month. She also noted the president’s Tweet from November 2012 that “what about it, she disagrees?
“The environment, too,” Evelyn said. “The whole thing with the climate denial – that should be taken care of.”
To learn more about WCFP, email jtdette@aol.com.
Hannington Dia can be reached at hd@hudsonreporter.com
