82-year-old Clinton activist still advocating peace — every single Sunday

By Patricia J. Malin

Whenever Ibby (Isabel) Chiquoine walks along the village green in Clinton near Utica, she has an ability to turn heads and stop traffic. She’s not a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. She is a model of a peace activist. Rain or shine, spring, summer, fall and winter, Chiquoine carves out a place on the edge of the small, rectangular park that cuts through the heart of the village. She carries just one homemade cardboard sign, “Honk for Peace.”

Every Sunday afternoon, as reliable as the bells that peal from the church tower across the street from her grassy platform at the intersection of Park Row and state Route 12B, the 82-year-old carries out her self-appointed duty.

We recently caught up with her about her Sunday ritual.

Q. What prompted you to become a peace activist?
A.  It started in 2001 when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan.

Q. What did you think of the events of 9-11?
A. It was a horrible thing, but from what I read, there were a lot of goofs in the U.S. government who didn’t pick up on what was going on. In March 2002, we invaded Iraq. Then the Mohawk Valley Peace Coalition began getting together on Sundays to protest here and at other places in Utica and in New Hartford.

Q. What type of reaction do you get?
A. Most of the time there’s no traffic. When we were in Utica, the police came and asked us what we were doing. Now the City of Utica tells us we need to get permission in advance. I talked to the mayor [David Roefaro] and he said he wanted to know what was going on. We wouldn’t do it during 5 o’clock traffic. I don’t want to be a distraction to the drivers. The reaction is almost always good.

Q. How much time does it take? How many people are involved?
A.  I spend an hour here in summer and a half hour in winter. We’ve had as many as 20 or 30 come here for our candlelight vigils.

Q. Do you think your protest makes any difference?
A. It gets people thinking about the war in Iraq. War is not the answer to problems.

Q. Did your upbringing influence your interest in social activism?
A. I’m originally from Montclair, N.J. My parents were very involved in Planned Parenthood. My mother was active in the League of Women Voters and was president of the New Jersey state chapter. I think I grew up with a lot of social consciousness. I always wanted to be in the League of Women Voters because I grew up with them. When my husband was working on his PhD at Cornell University, I got involved in some anti-war demonstrations in Ithaca. We also lived in Princeton, N.J., and St. Louis, Mo.,  I came to Clinton in 1966 when my husband became a biology professor at Hamilton College. In 1970, I was part of the group protesting at Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome. [She joined the infamous Berrigan Brothers to protest the storage of missiles]. I was mostly a stay-at-home mother with my five children. They now range in age from 44 to 56.

Q. What is your educational background?
A. I enrolled at Swarthmore College to study pre-med, but then I changed my mind. I received a B.S. in educational science. My husband and I met while we were students at Swarthmore. I obtained my M.S. in teaching from Hamilton in 1970. I began teaching second grade at Clark Mills Elementary School in 1970 after my youngest daughter, Kate, started school. I taught for six years until the school closed.

Q. Did you ever consider running for political office?
A. I never thought about it. My nephew, Bill Morehouse, is a member of the Common Council in Utica. The League of Women Voters deals with political issues, but it’s mostly to inform the public about candidates for office. But it’s non-partisan. They’re not involved in the peace movement, but I think it’s the most important issue of our time.