Temperatures were chilly, spirits were high and the sun came out for Caroll Cochran's annual New Year's Day Peace March. Approximately 50 peace-marchers gathered near Doolittle Park at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 1, festooned with peace symbols, a makeshift drum and other handcrafted signs imparting messages of peace.
Held annually in the town of Index, Cochran's peace march has grown more popular every year. The march began several years ago when members of the Index community, who were visiting with longtime resident Cochran, asked her what she wanted for her birthday. She told them she wanted to have a peace walk.
"I said, "I don't want to have to go to Seattle for it and all that. I'd just rather be at home and do it.' So that's how it started,GÇ¥ Cochran said.
With Cochran's birthday on Dec.16, the decision was made to hold the peace march on Jan. 1, as an uplifting and positive way to celebrate the new year and promote nonviolence. The year after the walk was founded, Cochran was out of town on New Year's Day, but the decision was made to hold the event anyway, and it has been ongoing ever since. No one is exactly sure how long they've been doing the peace march.
"We're guessing seven years but we could be off a year,GÇ¥ Cochran said.
Index resident Sue Cross attended the first peace march, which included only about 10 residents.
"It just keeps getting bigger and bigger,GÇ¥ Cross said. "The first year, we were walking around and everybody was pulling their drapes shut.GÇ¥
Cross' husband, Bill, a musician, served as the march's official drummer.
Sandwiched between the Skykomish River and the Index Wall, the peace walk traversed the entire town, which spans roughly a quarter-mile. Walkers hiked northeast along Avenue A to the town limits and then headed northwest until they got to Index Avenue. They continued west past the historic Bush House, which is in the process of being renovated.
More than a century old, Bush House owner, Blair Corson, has been working to reopen the landmark inn since 2012. The Corson family owns and operates the Outdoor Adventure Center, a whitewater river rafting and outdoor recreation company, as well as the River House Caf+¬, both of which are located across from Doolittle Park.
Once past Bush House, peace walkers crossed over the railroad tracks and jaunted in a southerly direction, connecting back to Avenue A. They traveled alongside the Skykomish River until they arrived back at Doolittle Park. Two adventurous river rafters setting out from the Outdoor Adventure Center momentarily joined the march.
Adults and kids alike enjoyed the march, as did a few of the community's four-legged members.
Cochran hopes the march will continue for years to come.
"I think I moved up here full time in about 1974, and my grandparents had a cabin up here,GÇ¥ she said. "So I'd been coming up here since before I was born.GÇ¥
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