Call Number:

DG.279

Repository:

Swarthmore College Peace Collection

Extent:

3.75 linear ft. (9 boxes)

Preferred Citation:

*[Identification of item] in the Kindlewood Peace Community Records (DG 279), Swarthmore College Peace Collection.

Date:

1970-1999 (inclusive)

Abstract:

The Kindlewood Peace Community was a grassroots organization, located in Rome, New York, during the 1980s. Members of the organization wished to raise awareness of the nuclear Cruise missiles stored at the nearby Griffiss Air Force Base. Kindlewood members held vigils and weekly handed out leaflets at the Base gate. They were also involved in the planning of conversion of the base to civilian and limited military use in the 1990s.

The Kindlewood Peace Community began as part of a coalition of peace organizations in central upstate New York, protesting the storage of nuclear missiles at a military base in the state. They began demonstrations, vigils, and civil disobedience activities in 1980. The organization was first known as the Griffiss Peace Community, and later as Kindlewood at the Griffiss Peace Community. KPC described its purpose as "a spiritually based peace community devoted to the ideals of nonviolent change and the freeing up of the world's resources from military spending to use for the common good." By the late 1980s some members lived in a co-housing community, sharing living space, as part of their commitment to KPC goals and ideals. KPC members were involved in planning the conversion of the Griffiss site to civilian use in the late 1980s through the 1990s. The leaders included Tom [Thomas C.] Joyce and Carrie Stearns.

This collection includes the records created by members of the Kindlewood Peace Community between 1979 and 1999, concerning their efforts to close down the Griffis Air Force base. It includes newsletters, administrative and meeting records, financial records, material distributed to the general public, newspaper clippings about the organization's protests, and information concerning other peace and anti-nuclear organizations.

This collection remains in the order in which it was donated. The donor, Thomas C. Joyce, organized the files before bringing the records to the Peace Collection in 2019.