“In Peace, With Honor” is a multi-disciplinary arts & cultural program designed to connect Minnesotans of all ages with both historical & contemporary stories of war, peace and reconciliation through 10 days of films, literary events, art & history exhibitions, discussions, and educational activities. Developed in partnership with literary artist Caren Stelson, “In Peace, With Honor” utilizes art & cultural exchanges as a platform for storytelling, understanding & reconciliation.

Public Events

• “Return of the Sword” presentation & discussion with Amdahl Family Thursday, September 21 at 6:30 p.m. in the St. Mane Theatre auditorium
• Art Exhibit opening, “Pictures from a Hiroshima Schoolyard,” Thursday September 21 at 6:00 p.m. in the St. Mane Theatre lobby
• History Exhibit opening, “From War to Reconciliation,” Thursday September 21 at 6:00 p.m. at St. Mane Theatre upper level
  • Exhibits available for viewing 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. September 21 – 23 & 28 – 30
• Reading and presentation for students, “Sachiko” by Caren Stelson Friday, September 22, morning, at Lanesboro Public Library
• Reading and presentation, “Sachiko” by Caren Stelson Saturday, September 23 at 2:00 p.m. at Lanesboro Arts Gallery
• World Peace Site Dedication Friday, September 29 at 1:00 p.m. at the Schroeder Visitors Center at Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center
• Film Screening, “Pictures from a Hiroshima Schoolyard” and discussion with Shizumi Manale & Melvin Hardy Saturday, September 30, at 7:30 p.m.

On September 21, 2013, lifelong Lanesboro resident & WWII veteran Orval Amdahl returned a handcrafted Japanese World War II sword, a war trophy he had taken from Nagasaki with U.S. Government permission, to the son of the Japanese soldier who originally owned it. With the help of the Saint Paul-Nagasaki Sister City Committee, the Amdahl family and the Motomura family of Nagasaki were brought together at Como Park in Saint Paul. Over 300 people came to witness this moving example of peace and reconciliation, many of them Lanesboro friends.

Caren Stelson interviewed Orval Amdahl in the fall of 2012, while researching her book, Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor’s Story. After the interview, Orval said, “Can I show you something?” He brought out the Japanese sword he had been oiling for decades. Orval told Caren, “I want to give this back in peace, with honor.” With those words, a journey to return the sword began.

Orval’s story attracted attention on an international scale, a symbol of peace and reconciliation between two nations and two peoples. “The Return of the Sword” event is a key opportunity to more broadly & deeply tell the sword’s story to the wider Lanesboro area. A presentation and discussion panel with the Amdahl family and friends will be held at the St. Mane Theatre.

“The Return of the Sword” event on Thursday, September 21, the International Day of Peace, is a powerful starting point for 10 days of programs that include “Pictures from a Hiroshima Schoolyard” documentary film & companion art exhibit at the St. Mane.

“Pictures from a Hiroshima Schoolyard,” produced by Shizumi Shigeto Manale and directed by documentary filmmaker Bryan Reichhardt, tells the story of a collection of surprisingly joyful drawings created in 1947 by school children living among the ruins of Hiroshima. After hearing of the dismal conditions of the Hiroshima schools, the congregation of All Souls Church Unitarian in Washington D.C. shipped art and school supplies to Hiroshima for the children’s use. In 1948, the children’s drawings were sent from Hiroshima to the Washington D.C. church as a thank-you for the materials then displayed around the country with funds from the U.S. Government. When the pictures were returned to the church, they were stored away for safekeeping for nearly five decades. In 1995, the children’s drawings were rediscovered and their story was slowly pieced together. Melvin Hardy, then All Souls Church’s Administrator, and other church members formed a group to restore and reframe the pictures. In 2006, Shizumi Shigeto Manale visited the church and viewed the children’s pictures. Inspired by the story behind the pictures, Shizumi returned to her home city of Hiroshima to reunited the student artists, now in their seventies and eighties, with their original drawing and to produce a film that reflects on war, peace, and hope. Prints of the original drawings on loan from All Souls Church Unitarian will be on display with interpretive signage in the St. Mane lobby September 21-30. Shizumi and Melvin Hardy will be in Lanesboro for a discussion about the drawings and film following a public screening at the St. Mane Theatre on Saturday, September 30.

A history exhibition called “From War to Reconciliation” will also be on display in the upper level studio space of the St. Mane Theatre September 21-30. Developed by the Hiroshima and Nagasaki National Peace Memorial Halls for Atomic Bomb Victims, the exhibition will be presented in Lanesboro, on loan from the Saint Paul-Nagasaki Sister City Committee. The exhibit includes 47 posters that tell the difficult history of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the closing days of World War II. From the atomic blast, to survival, to recovery, to a call from the elimination of nuclear weapons, this exhibition will remind all who visit that the world must never again experience nuclear war.

On Friday, September 22 at the Lanesboro Public Library and Saturday, September 23 at Lanesboro Arts Gallery, author Caren Stelson is reading from, and sharing a presentation about, her new book Sachiko: A Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Story. Her book is a striking work of narrative nonfiction that tells the true story of six-year-old Sachiko Yasui’s survival of the Nagasaki atomic bomb on August 9, 1945, and the heartbreaking and lifelong aftermath. Having conducted extensive interviews with Sachiko Yasui, Caren Stelson chronicles Sachiko’s long journey toward peace. This special book offers readers a remarkable new perspective on the final moments of World War II, the fifty years that followed, and the courage it took for one woman to tell her story of nuclear war and peace.

Caren, Melvin, and Shizumi will also be participating in the installation of a World Citizen Peace Pole and Peace Site dedication at Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center on Friday, September 29 at 1:00 p.m. that will also include the planting of a gingko tree that grew from a seed that survived the Hiroshima bombing (donated by the Avalon School in Saint Paul).

Caren Stelson is the author of Sachiko: A Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivor’s Story and other works for children & young adults. With a long career in education, as a teacher, artist-in-residence and freelance writer, as well as time served on boards of the St. Paul-Nagasaki Sister City Committee & World Citizen, a nonprofit educational organization for peace and justice. Caren will participate in panel discussions, organize origami workshops, and connect Lanesboro Arts with artistic, cultural & educational resources for “In Peace, With Honor.”

Shizumi Shigeto Manale is a dancer, performing artist, choreographer, director, author, & film producer. She has performed at the Kennedy Center, White House, Vincent Van Gogh Museum, & the Smithsonian. Born in Hiroshima, Shizumi was inspired to return to her native city to produce the documentary film “Pictures from a Hiroshima Schoolyard” with documentary filmmaker Bryan Reichhardt and write the film’s companion novel, Running with Cosmos Flowers. During her visit in Lanesboro, Shizumi will participate in public & school matinee panels to discuss the production of the film. Her book will be available in at the Lanesboro Arts gallery during the film’s showing.

Melvin Hardy is an active leader in global justice and human rights, as well an artist and curator of the Hiroshima children’s pictures at All Souls Church Unitarian in Washington D.C. Melvin played a key role in the restoration of the Hiroshima children’s art and provided church leadership to help unite the Hiroshima’s children’s pictures with the original artists who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

Supported in part by a generous donation from the Lanesboro American Legion

Special thanks to Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center