Fire Farm Peace Poles, an Ocean Apart

In 1846, one of the founders of the little town where Fire Farm is located decided to name the new settlement on the banks of the Turkey River in honor of an Algerian hero who had led his country's resistance to a French invasion. The hero was the Emir Abd El Kader, and the Iowa city name for him is still known as Elkader.

In the 1980s, a Sister City relationship between Elkader and Mascara, Algeria, the emir's birthplace, was formed. Recently, Fire Farm's Adam Pollock designed and produced twin peace poles inscribed with the Sister City's motto "May Peace Prevail" in English, French, and Arabic for display in parks in Elkader and Mascara. Both poles were given by Pollock as symbols of the commitment to peace which links the two cities.

The Elkader peace pole was presented in the presence of the Algerian ambassador as part of a rededication of an Elkader park named for the emir's birthplace. The pole's twin was shipped in Mascara, and Pollock recently received pictures of it in place in a park there. Accompanying the pictures was a letter from the mayor of Mascara expressing his city's friendship, continuing belief in the ideals of the Sister Cities' movement, and gratitude for Pollock's gift.

See more images of the peace pole here: Peace Pole 2482 Project Page



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