CONCORD & KANNAPOLIS
Independent Tribune
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1996

By TOM VANDERBILT

Area residents who thought post-Christmas stress had brought on hallucinations will be glad to learn the two hippies pushing a coffin through Kannapolis and Concord Friday were real.

Further, the coffin doesn't contain the body of the deceased lead singer of the Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia.

Inside, according to Rudy Stolfer and Kraig Mottar, is every man, woman, and child who ever died in any war, along with enough blankets, clothes and other amenities for a six-month trek across the United States.

The two plan to pull the six-foot, 300-pound casket on wheels, across the country as a protest for peace. Their journey began in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 3.

"The coffin is a representation and remembrance for all the people who have died in wars, and who ever will," said Stolfer. "This is an attempt to bring people together in mind, and in body, to start doing something to end this sadness."

Or so they hope.

Their intent is to continue walking down to Atlanta, then to head west, hoping to reach Washington state by the fourth of July.

"We hope to see that we've made an effect by then," Stolfer said. "And if we don't see a change beginning at that time, we'll turn around and start heading back to Washington, D.C."

The cause the two represent is the United Spirits Peace Pilgrimage, a movement they said is dedicated to unifying all of mankind. "We are all brothers and sisters, the children of God," remarks Stolfer softly. "We must all come together in order for real change to take place. It's about remembering what's happened in the past, and trying to make a serious change in things for the future."

Stolfer, 47, is from Washington, Pa.; Mottar, 31, from Riverside, Calif. They met during a peace march which began last July in Missouri, continued to Chicago for the Democratic Convention and up into New York for the anniversary of the United Nations.

Along the way they realized that despite their different backgrounds, they have a common goal--World Peace.

Stolfer, who spent four years during the late '60s and early '70s in the Marine Corps, went on to operate a wooden toy business in the '80s, selling to clients such as Saks Fifth Avenue, the Smithsonian and John Deere. He later ended up working for Greenpeace, but felt the need to do something more.

Mottar, a former college student who also took flight lessons, had worked in the instructional media department of a college, but also felt the need to make a change.

Both felt the desire for alternative lifestyles, but also the importance of including the rest of the planet.

"One time I thought to myself," Stolfer remembers, "I should just move out in the mountains and live by myself away from all the violence and corruption that's occurring in today's society. But then I remembered the innocence of my little nieces and nephews, and knew that I had to work to make changes in the world to insure their future."

Mottar agrees. "The concept of living away from the problems of today's world is appealing, but that should be a part of everyone's lives."

Through the help of Proposition One. a peace advocacy group that sponsors peace rallies in Washington D.C., the two started out on their quest for the dream.

Like Forrest Gump's cinematic jog across the country, the peace walk has generated support and even somewhat of a following. "The response has been tremendous," Stolfer said. "I never would have expected the results we've seen so far."

Having left Washington, D.C. with only $2 in their pockets, the two have received donations from people along the way. Some who see them walking, go home and get food, driving back to feed them. Others even bring them into their homes at night.

On Christmas day they had more food than they knew what to do with. "Families would stop on the side of the road, giving us turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing...," Mottar said, sighing deeply into a culinary dream. There was one woman in Alta Vista, Va., who brought them into her farm for four days, feeding them, giving them a place to sleep, and washing their clothes. But most importantly, Rudy recalls, getting to watch the movie "Gandhi" again. "I sat there in awe observing one of the greatest men who ever lived, really put forth his all for what he believed in, Stolfer said, gazing off into the distance with determination in his eyes. "He truly believed in a cause and was willing to do anything to bring about change."

Along the way the support of others has brought stories and signs of kindness and humanity. "We had a tire on the coffin blow out in Lovingston, Va., and a trucker picked us up," Stolfer said. "He drove us all the way to Lynchburg, Va., where a man who runs a bicycle shop gave us a new one and a spare, and the sheriff gave us a motel room for the night."

People stop and give them money. Buy them lunch. People at restaurants who overhear their stories stop at their table to drop down a few bills and words of encouragement.

"It's absolutely overwhelming," Stolfer said with a big smile. "Every day we walk we continue to see living proof that the world is filled with people who care, no matter who you are and what you look like."

Both said they learned that, especially during these holiday times, people of all ages look past the dreadlocks, tie dyes, and the unusual trinkets worn by these two wandering spirits and see what truly lies underneath--human beings filled with a passion to work for peace on earth and goodwill towards all men.