Story Info
Story Info
Renee Toll-DuBois
Ashuelot River Park, Keene NH
2023
Type of Wounded Place
Story & Experience
It was Monday Juneteenth. We went to the public park in Keene that is Ashuelot Park, as the Ashuelot River flows through it on its 64-mile journey to the CT River. There were many more people out than a usual Monday. We arrived at the designated spot and set up: laying a large tree cookie from a CO Blue Spruce cut down at Jean’s old house on top of a granite very short post, to create a surface. Jean then began to lay out the colorful rocks with words on them. The flag was flying on the cookie, using an opened coat hanger as the U-shape. Renée then read the UN Environmental Sabbath poem prayer – we stand with the Earth and with Each other. Then she played a variety of Indigenous women singing a water blessing song. Most of the women were Algonquin – Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and one from the west coast. People passed by, some curious, others intent on what they were doing, yet all positive. Jean and Renée made a few sample messages with the word rocks and then felt we had come to the end of the ceremony blessing the water and inviting people to engage with it in a fun way and moved to a different spot with an expansive view of the river and sat, quietly reflecting and enjoying – the water, the birds, the trees and grasses, the sunshine.
It was Monday Juneteenth. We went to the public park in Keene that is Ashuelot Park, as the Ashuelot River flows through it on its 64-mile journey to the CT River. There were many more people out than a usual Monday. We arrived at the designated spot and set up: laying a large tree cookie from a CO Blue Spruce cut down at Jean’s old house on top of a granite very short post, to create a surface. Jean then began to lay out the colorful rocks with words on them. The flag was flying on the cookie, using an opened coat hanger as the U-shape. Renée then read the UN Environmental Sabbath poem prayer – we stand with the Earth and with Each other. Then she played a variety of Indigenous women singing a water blessing song. Most of the women were Algonquin – Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and one from the west coast. People passed by, some curious, others intent on what they were doing, yet all positive. Jean and Renée made a few sample messages with the word rocks and then felt we had come to the end of the ceremony blessing the water and inviting people to engage with it in a fun way and moved to a different spot with an expansive view of the river and sat, quietly reflecting and enjoying – the water, the birds, the trees and grasses, the sunshine.
Why this Place?
Ashuelot River Park, Keene NH
Jean Rogers chose it. She lives in Keene and sees that people do not connect and engage with this river. They walk alongside without really seeing it. She wanted to bring their attention to it through a fun experience. The site is very near a waterfall that powered a factory mill.
Act of Beauty
Say more about your actions and activity
The colorful message stones at a physical material level and blessing songs and prayers at the spiritual level.
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