Jeff’s Corner: In Remembrance of Helene Young

Jeff Blom stands with Helene Young in front of the post office where she forwarded mail addressed to Peace Pilgrim.

Helene Young, Peace Pilgrims younger sister, recently had her transition to a freer living, as Peace would say. She was 105 years old. Many of us feel a great sense of loss for the passing of this wonderful and inspiring soul. 

Back around 1992 I had the honor and blessing of spending several days with Helene and her husband, Eugene, at their home in Cologne, NJ. What can I say about this delightful couple? They were deeply devoted to each other and in their love for Peace Pilgrim. Eugene compiled a scrapbook of Peace Pilgrim’s life, including many mementos from her 28 years of living in faith on the road. 

During my visit there, Helene and I rode together on her daily 10-mile bike trips through the surrounding countryside. We made our way to the grave of Peace Pilgrim, where we stopped in remembrance. We also went to the Renault Winery, where Mildred, the future Peace Pilgrim, had worked and where she got her younger sister a job that Helene kept for 50 years until her retirement. 

Helene explained to me that she long ago had seen a doctor when she started having difficulty getting around. The physician diagnosed blocked arteries and suggested bypass surgery. Helene told her doctor she decided not to have the operation; that she was going to seek alternative measures. Interestingly, the doctor gave his blessing. As part of her effort, Helene began riding her bike 10 miles every day, which she did until she was 100 years old! She also walked regularly, including as a dedicated volunteer doing daily trash pick-ups along the busy White Horse Pike that fronted her home.

Helene remained very devoted to her sister, whose mail she forwarded during the entire 28 years of the pilgrimage. Helene gave many talks about Peace and her mission, at various places including to prisoners in a Camden, NJ jail. When she was 100-years-old she participated in a 12-mile charity bike ride. But after her 101st birthday, she fell when her foot caught during one of her daily rides. Complications from that accident, combined with failing eyesight, forced her to stop riding outdoors for good. But she did continue pedaling on her indoor stationary cycle! 

Helene never moved to any kind of care facility, but rather, until her passing, lived in the same home in which she raised her children, supported her sister’s pilgrimage and gave back to the community as a March of Dimes advocate.    

The last few years we held our Friends of Peace Pilgrim board meeting at Helen’s house and had the delightful experience of her presence. Her mind was very clear until the end. She had a devoted live-in friend and caretaker, Sandy, who helped Helene continue her independent living until her passing just weeks short of her 106th birthday. 

We will ever be inspired by her presence, life and her devoted service to her sister.

See our Winter 2021 Newsletter #67, which is a tribute to Helene Young

Jeff’s Corner: Mayte Picco-Kline & the Peace Pilgrim Translations Project

Mayte Picco-Kline shares a smile with Peace Pilgrim’s 105-year-old sister, Helene Young

Mayte (short for Maria Teresa) Picco-Kline is a Mexican woman who had a career with Ford Motor Company of Mexico. She rose to become one of the highest ranking women executives in the company in that country, responsible for the personal development of 14,000 Ford executives and employees. She married another Ford Executive, Robert Kline. After they retired, they moved to Pennsylvania and Mayte became an American citizen.

She first learned about Peace Pilgrim in 1989 at a Quaker meetinghouse near her home in Lancaster, PA. Something about Peace Pilgrim touched her deeply, enough for her to make the journey to the Peace Pilgrim center, at that time located in John and Ann Rush’s house in Hemet, CA. That is where I first met her. 

At that time, we had a Spanish language version of Peace Pilgrim’s Steps toward Inner Peace that was originally translated in Venezuela and revised by Claudio Zanelli, a Chilean who I met at an Amnesty International gathering in Sacramento, CA around 1986. 

Mayte suggested an interest in possibly translating Friends of Peace Pilgrim’s free book, Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words, into Spanish. I agreed to work with her to bring that project to fruition. After Mayte finished the translation, Brian Moucka, a professional graphic designer, who had originally designed and typeset the early editions of our FoPP newsletter, designed the cover and typeset the Spanish Peace Pilgrim book. He used the English language Peace Pilgrim book as a model. 

I arranged for Spanish speaking people from 16 countries to proofread the book before it actually went into production in 1991. Since then, we have sent thousands of copies of the Spanish language Peace Pilgrim book to prisoners who regularly write us requesting copies.

Cheryl Canfield, one of the original Peace Pilgrim book compilers, and I flew to Mexico and met with Mayte, who translated a talk we gave about Peace Pilgrim. We had a wonderful time travelling around Mexico with her.

Because of Mayte’s dedicated and tireless work on Peace Pilgrim projects, we invited her to become a board member of Friends of Peace Pilgrim, an offer she accepted in 2006. In that role, she specifically took on the mission to make the Peace Pilgrim book and Steps Toward Inner Peace booklet available around the world. It is thanks to Mayte that we now have the Peace Pilgrim book in 18 languages and the Steps Toward Inner Peace booklet in 38 different languages, all easily downloadable for free from the Peace Pilgrim website. 

Mayte is in touch with many translators of different languages in diverse locations. She facilitates their process to turn their translations into books and booklets. Mayte also credits her husband, Bob, who scanned 9 books and 17 Steps booklets to extend the online library to a wider audience. For each project, Mayte has worked closely with the translators, most of whom reach out to Friends of Peace Pilgrim after experiencing the same kind of inspiration that she felt upon learning about Peace Pilgrim. Their final creation may take years and much dedication. 

“It is a tremendous accomplishment for those who choose to translate Peace Pilgrim words and we share deep gratitude for their commitment,” she said.

Likewise, the Board shares deep gratitude for Mayte’s ongoing efforts. She has done a stupendous job!

Mayte is the author of Wholeness in Living ~ Kindling the Inner Light. She participates in the activities of the Sabian Assembly, a cooperative project for expanding human potential. With her sparkling eyes and bright smile she said, "Experiencing peace has been a core value in my life. Peace Pilgrim and the Sabian Assembly are essential in the fulfillment of my mission as a bridge person for the attainment of inner peace, trusting that when enough of us experience inner peace we will have peace in the world.”

Spanish translation of the Peace Pilgrim book done by Mayte Picco-Kline

Mayte Picco-Kline and Helene Young sit in Peace Pilgrim Park near a Peace Pilgrim statue and peace tiles made by local high school students in Egg Harbor City, NJ.

Jeff's corner: A Radio Interview, a Trappist Monastery & Steps Toward Inner Peace

When Peace Pilgrim explained her Steps Toward Inner Peace during an interview on KPFK radio in Los Angeles, the interviewer was so taken with her message that he transcribed the talk and mimeographed copies to give to people.

After Peace Pilgrim’s 1981 passing, a group of friends created the book, Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words. [See our Sept. 25 post.] Two years later, John and Ann Rush opened a Peace Pilgrim center at their home in Whittier, CA, and began offering the book free to anyone who asked. They also mimeographed the Steps and included a copy with each book they mailed.

One of the people who came across a mimeographed Steps booklet was a Catholic hermit from Texas, who traveled every year to the New Melleray Trappist Abbey in Peosta, Iowa for an annual retreat. During one visit, he brought the booklet and gave it to Brother Mark, a New Melleray monk. 

Brother Mark appreciated its content enough that he thought it would benefit by being typeset instead of mimeographed. He contacted John and Ann Rush in California and offered to typeset the booklet on the monastery’s huge linotype machine. Developed in the late 1800’s, the once-popular printing technology injected molten lead into a mold to cast metal type line by line. 

John and Ann, already planning to visit their children and grandchildren in New Hampshire, decided to stop at New Melleray to confer with Brother Mark in person about the typesetting details. By a miraculous “coincidence,” I had the great blessing to have lunch with Brother Mark and the Rushes during that visit, but that is a story for another day. 

We have printed over two million copies of Brother Mark’s typeset Steps Toward Inner Peace and are ever grateful to him for his contribution. I've always thought that the type was particularly beautiful and stands out from computer-generated type so common today.

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About New Melleray Abbey: In the 1840s Irish monks from Mount Melleray Abbey in Ireland came to the United States and founded New Melleray Abbey. One of the monks was an architect and the stones for the buildings were actually quarried on the property. I was blessed by staying at New Melleray for about a month and would highly recommend visiting them. One of the highlights for me was visiting the beautiful chapel, built by the monks themselves in the 1840’s, for the chanting of the hours. Learn more at New Melleray Abbey

Jeff’s Corner: Peace Pilgrim’s Sister

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Helene Young, now 105, joyfully rode her bike 10 miles a day until she was over 100 years old.

On January 1, 1953, when Peace Pilgrim started her pilgrimage, she had entrusted her younger sister, Helene Young, who she described as her “friend,” to protect her anonymity. For more than 28 years, Peace regularly sent updates so Helene would know where she was going to be and then Helene faithfully forwarded all the mail Peace received at a Cologne, NJ, post office box which Peace gave as her “address” to those she met across the country. (All these years later, letters still periodically arrive at the post office for the beloved pilgrim.)

Helene is now 105 years old and still lives in the same house she did in 1953, a converted feed depot that her brother Alfred redesigned and rebuilt into a small but attractive home.

We have held the annual Friends of Peace Pilgrim board meeting at Helene’s house the last few years but unfortunately the Covid-19 pandemic forced us to meet online this year. We truly missed her hospitality, her neat-as-a-pin home and especially the times Helene, an accomplished pianist, would spontaneously perform for the board members during a break. 

I visited her in 1992 and met her late husband Eugene, an avid historian who compiled what has become a treasured scrapbook of Peace Pilgrim’s 28-plus years of walking for peace. The scrapbook is now housed at the historical museum in their birth town of Egg Harbor City, NJ.  

At the time of my visit, Helene was riding her bike 10 miles a day for exercise. I had the pleasure on two different days to ride with her in the countryside for her 10 miles. We visited Peace Pilgrim's grave as well as the winery where Helene worked until she retired. Mildred (the future Peace Pilgrim) had also worked there and gotten her little sister the job. Helene often says with a smile, “I’m very lucky because I got my job through my sister and my husband through my brother” (who introduced the pair.)

Nearly two decades later, when Helene was 97 years old, we again rode 10 miles in the countryside around Cologne and Egg Harbor City. We stopped at the nearby community of Germania Gardens and visited with a man who knew Mildred before the pilgrimage and described a party that she had attended. He never met her as Peace Pilgrim.

During her pilgrimage, Peace Pilgrim would occasionally stay with Helene for a few days if she was passing through New Jersey. Helene told me that the woman who was Peace Pilgrim was not the sister she remembered. Peace Pilgrim herself had said she “died to her old self.” It was evident to Helene that “Mildred” was gone and she couldn’t resurrect her. She said Peace Pilgrim used the time during her stays responding to the many letters she received and to do some speaking engagements in the area.

Helene continued her practice of riding her bike 10 miles a day until she was 101 years old. When she was 99 and 100 she participated in an annual 12-14 mile bike ride fundraiser. While training for the next bike ride she fell off her bike and reluctantly made the decision to stop biking.
 
Different as their paths may have been, both siblings shared a deep desire to live peaceably. Helene has done much on her own and through her sister’s legacy to promote peace. She is quite a remarkable woman and we’ll share some more of her story in future blog posts!

The Three Living Compilers of the Peace Pilgrim book

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Three of the five compilers of the Peace Pilgrim book, from left, Andy Zupko, Cheryl Canfield and Richard Polese.

After Peace Pilgrim's passing in 1981, about 50 people from around the U.S. attended a memorial gathering at the home of Richard Polese in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A decision was made to compile a collection of Peace Pilgrim’s words from letters, audiotapes and other sources. Five people ­– John and Ann Rush, Cheryl Canfield, Andy Zupko and Richard Polese – stayed to create what became the classic book, Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words.  

John and Ann Rush made their transition to a freer life, but three of those compilers are still here: Andy Zupko, Cheryl Canfield and Richard Polese.

Each had spent much time with Peace Pilgrim. Peace stayed at Richard’s home while in Santa Fe and the book includes a news article about her written by Richard, a local newspaper reporter at the time. Andy and Cheryl followed Peace Pilgrim around on her pilgrimage, attending her different speaking engagements, and enjoying many one-on-one conversations with her. They also participated in Peace Pilgrim’s inspirational tours in Alaska and Hawaii. (Richard, too, went on the Hawaiian tour.) 

All three became founding members of the Friends of Peace Pilgrim board, dedicated to spreading the wisdom of their beloved friend and mentor. Cheryl, active as a wellness counselor, and Richard, a book publisher, remain on the FoPP board. Although Andy resigned and retired to a life of contemplation, we are regularly in touch with him.

The Peace Pilgrim book they lovingly put together has touched the lives of tens of thousands of people around the globe for nearly four decades. FoPP offers the book for free as a print book in English and Spanish, an audio book and as a digital download in 18 languages. 

Print Book Ritual Deeply Rewarding

FoPP Board Member Richard Polese picks up the latest shipment of Peace Pilgrim books.

When we received our latest shipment of Peace Pilgrim books from the printer, we paused to reflect on the wonderful ritual this has become for Friends of Peace Pilgrim. 

After Peace Pilgrim’s sudden passing in July 1981, FoPP board member Richard Polese hosted a Memorial gathering at his home in Santa Fe, NM. About 50 people from around the country showed up and spent several days sharing stories and remembering their connections with Peace Pilgrim. Five friends of Peace stayed on afterward to compile her words into the book, Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words. 

One of the five compilers, Andy Zubko, donated enough money to print the first edition. The group decided to offer the book in the spirit of Peace Pilgrim – free to any who ask for it. They planned to continue printing it as long as there were enough unsolicited donations to pay for the next printing. In 1982, the first shipment was delivered to the home of John and Ann Rush, a Quaker couple in Whittier, CA, who ran the first Peace Pilgrim Center.

Thirty-eight years after we received that first shipment of Peace Pilgrim books, it is a rare day that we don’t receive emails, calls or letters asking for a copy. The tradition of sending out books free upon request has continued, and there has always been enough funding for the next printing, primarilly through unsolicited donations.

Since 1982, we have taken delivery of about half a million copies of Peace Pilgrim's books, as well as over 2 million copies of Peace Pilgrim’s Steps Toward Inner Peace (along with many audio and video cassettes, DVDs and other offerings.)

Though many people come to our website to download the digital edition of the Peace Pilgrim book (not only in English but in 17 other languages), in the spirit of Peace Pilgrim we continue offering the printed edition free to any and all who  ask – which we do joyfully!

Where is Friends of Peace Pilgrim located?

The late John and Ann Rush hosted the Peace Pilgrim Center in their California homes for over two decades.

Many people wonder where Friends of People Pilgrim is based. Good question!

When we started out in 1982, our little organization operated out of the home of John and Ann Rush, a Quaker couple from Whittier, CA, who then purchased a home in Hemet, CA. Around 2004 they moved to Somerset, CA, to a property given to Friends of Peace Pilgrim by Cathy Miller. John and Ann retired due to health concerns and Cathy continued the Peace Pilgrim center in Somerset until her passing a few years later.

John and Ann each lived into their 90s, but ever since they retired and Cathy Miller passed we no longer have had a single location where people could come and visit. But we have continued to send out Peace Pilgrim's book and other offerings free to those who ask continuously since 1982.

At the present time our official mailing address is in Shelton, CT. Requests that come in through the mail are usually shipped from there, including the numerous requests for the Peace Pilgrim book from prisoners, in English and Spanish. Requests that come in from our website and by email are shipped from the home of board member Richard Polese in Santa Fe, NM. It was from his home that the Memorial gathering took place after Peace Pilgrim's passing and where the book was compiled shortly thereafter. Richard is one of the five compilers of the Peace Pilgrim book. 

Requests for multiple copies of our various offerings are generally shipped from Oklahoma City, OK, where we rent space in a church. Oklahoma is the home of board member Maurice Hoover, and much of the work is done in Oklahoma City by Jackie Newcomb. Our phone, though a Connecticut number, is now answered in Santa Fe.

So unlike in the days of having our Peace Pilgrim center in the home of John and Ann Rush, our volunteers now send out Peace Pilgrim offerings from three different locations: Shelton CT, Santa Fe, NM and Oklahoma City, OK, which we joyfully do!

FoPP board member Richard Polese called the memorial gathering from which the Peace Pilgrim book resulted; He is one of the five compilers of the book, Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words.

New Newsletter for Translators

Mayte Picco-Kline is our board member in charge of coordinating the translations of Peace Pilgrim's words and we believe that she has done a spectacular job. At the present time, you can find on the Peace Pilgrim website translations of the book, Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words, in 18 languages and her Steps Towards Inner Peace in 32 languages, all available in easily downloadable free editions. This was possible because of the great efforts of numerous people, for whom we at Friends of Peace Pilgrim feel great gratitude.

We first met Mayte around 1989 when she offered to help create a Spanish language edition of the Peace Pilgrim book. We have kept this Spanish language edition in print ever since.

We currently offer the Peace Pilgrim book as a digital download in the following languages in addition to English:
Chinese, Croatian, Dutch, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish and Tamil. 

Friends of Peace Pilgrim has actually produced three printed language editions of the Peace Pilgrim book. In addition to the English and Spanish printed editions, we also produced a Russian language edition, of which we printed 20,000 copies (and 50,000 copies of the Russian language Steps). These were printed in Moscow and how that came about will be the subject of a future post. 

We also currently offer printed editions of Steps Toward Inner Peace in Arabic and Hebrew. It is available for download in 32 languages:
Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Esperanto, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Korean, Nepali, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Tamil, Turkish, Ukrainian and Vietnamese.  

If you are interested in Mayte's Peace Pilgrim translation project and would like to receive the newsletter for translators, let us know!

Friends Celebrate Peace Pilgrim's Birthday

Peace Pilgrim's sister, Helene Young (age 104) gets ready to blow out the candle on the birthday cake held by FoPP board member Barbara Reynolds

Musicians lead a sing-along of peace songs

Peace Pilgrim statue in Peace Pilgrim Park

Peace sign garden at Peace Pilgrim Park

Peace banners on repurposed municipal vehicle

Master gardeners work with students at Peace Pilgrim Park

Master gardeners work with students at Peace Pilgrim Park

Master gardeners work with students at Peace Pilgrim Park

Stormy weather could not dampen the joyful celebration of Peace Pilgrim’s birthday on July 18, 2019. Friends new and old gathered in her hometown of Egg Harbor City, NJ, at the Historical Museum across from Peace Pilgrim Park.

Originally intended to be outdoors, the gathering, planned by FoPP Board Member Barbara Reynolds, was filled with love and laughter. Everyone was thrilled to chat with Peace Pilgrim's “baby” sister, Helene Young, age 104, who blew out the candle on the birthday cake. 

When the weather cleared a little, the party moved across the street for a quick tour of the Park, which looked beautiful thanks to the efforts of local master gardeners and neighborhood children. “I enjoy connecting the children in the community to the nature found the Park,” said master gardener Candace Negron. “We planted native plants for our bees and butterflies visiting the gardens and educated our students on the importance of them to the garden”. 

After visiting the Park, which features a Peace Pilgrim statue surrounded with colorful tiles made by local school students and a garden in the shape of a peace sign, the group returned to the museum. Accompanied by three guitars, they sang peace songs until about 10 pm.

“It was a most wonderful evening in the company of many Friends of Peace Pilgrim and Peace's most amazing sister, Helene,” said FoPP Board Member Bruce Nichols.

Remembering Peace Pilgrim's Glorious Transition

Even though she had wandered the United States for more than 28 years and was in the middle of her seventh pilgrimage, Peace Pilgrim’s travels still took her to new places. Such was the case in Knox, IN, where she arrived on July 5, 1981. A friend she met many years earlier had moved to the small midwestern city and invited her to visit.

As usual, Peace was featured in the local paper, interviewed on the radio and had several talks lined up. One of her first was at a crowded church hall. As she spoke, Peace kept looking skyward. Then she surprised her audience by walking off the platform and slowly making her way around the silent room. She reached out to individuals one-by-one and touched each of them, saying “bless you.” She returned to the podium, looked upward again and remarked, “I never usually say goodbye, but this has been a very special night for me and I just want to bless all of you and say goodbye.” Afterwards, as always, she took time to chat with those who sought her out.

The next day, Peace rose with the sun and watched the dawn blossom into daylight. Later, she was interviewed by local radio broadcaster Ted Hayes. The following afternoon, July 7, Peace had another speaking engagement at a senior center in Elkhart, IN, and had accepted the offer of a ride from Ewell Ward. For the first 25,000 miles of her pilgrimage she refused transportation and strictly kept to walking. But once she stopped counting the miles and had many engagements to meet, she didn’t mind the lift. As his car pulled up, she said a warm good-bye to her friend, offering an extra hug.

Just outside the Knox border, the vehicle was in a head-on collision near the home of. Tony and Terry Bau. The couple ran to the road when they heard the explosive crash. Terry held Peace in her arms as she made her transition. Ewell, the driver, passed a few hours later. The young lady driving the other car was not seriously injured.

Thousands of her friends – old and new – were deeply shocked and saddened when they learned of Peace Pilgrim’s sudden passing. The irony was not lost on anyone that the amazing woman who spent nearly three decades moving on foot met her earthly end in an automobile. But Peace was most likely rejoicing on that day, July 7, 1981, when she made what she often called a “glorious transition to a freer life.”

Twenty-eight years later, in 2009, Friends of Peace Pilgrim board member Richard Polese joined Tony and Terry Bau to help erect a Peace Pilgrim Pole that still stands just across the road from the accident. Radio broadcaster Ted Hayes, who recorded her last interview the day before she died, joined the celebration as well.

The Baus keep a small box by the pole where passersby can pick up a copy of Peace’s Steps Toward Inner Peace. Recently, friend Jason Brown sent a note with links to photos of the Peace Pilgrim Pole in Knox. “I have been a big fan of Peace Pilgrim for many years. She changed my life tremendously,” said Jason, who also noted that photos from the crash are shown 52:30 into the wonderful documentary, The Spirit of Peace .

NOTE: This article appeared in the latest issue (Number 64) of the Friends of Peace Pilgrim newsletter.

In 2009, Tony and Terry Bau, Richard Polese and radio broadcaster Ted Hayes help dedicate a Peace Pilgrim Pole that still stands near the site of her transition.