NORTHAMPTON — When friends asked legendary Northampton activist Frances Crowe what she wanted for her 98th birthday on March 15, her answer surprised no one.

“She kind of said, ‘We need to march and rally, we have to take to the streets,’” her friend the Rev. Andrea Ayvazian recalled.

That birthday wish was realized Monday when the longtime anti-war organizer and more than 100 other protesters marched from Bridge Street School to First Churches of Northampton, where they held a rally decrying the Trump administration’s prioritizing of defense spending over social programs.

“We’re so disturbed about the budget for funding more nuclear weapons that we don’t want and don’t need,” Crowe said. “We should be funding health care for all, and education for everyone.”

Organizers from the Northampton Committee to Stop the Wars led the group as they headed toward the city’s downtown area. Blocking traffic, they held banners and signs with slogans like “Stop war cut military spending” and “You don’t spread democracy through the barrel of a gun.”

Adele Smith-Penniman, 70, and Anne Moore, 87, marched together, and said that as grandmothers, the issues of war and peace hold particular import for them.

“I’m concerned for this generation and future ones because there may not be a world for them,” Smith-Penniman said, pointing to recent U.S. missile attacks and airstrikes in Afghanistan and Syria as troubling signs.

“I’m holding onto both optimism and despair at the same time,” she said.

The demonstration took place ahead of Tuesday’s deadline for filing federal taxes in order to draw attention to the large portion of the U.S. budget allocated to the military, organizers said.

Bob Gardner, 65, dressed as a $100 bill for a skit satirizing the role of money in politics.

“It is the continuous wars that underpin our whole economy and culture,” he said, mentioning the ongoing U.S.-backed Saudi bombing campaign in Yemen. “People are not talking enough about war.”

Many of the demonstrators hailed from an older generation of activists who came of age during earlier struggles against U.S. military action. There were, however, younger protesters scattered throughout the crowd.

“It’s incredibly supportive to have such an incredibly vibrant community of activists from all generations,” said 20-year old Gil Wermeling, an Amherst College student.

Several children pushed in strollers or walking together with adults joined in the protest.

“It makes me feel proud,” 10-year-old Jack Napolitano said of marching. “It helps make a point or a stand and it helps inspire younger people to stand up.”

Jack was there with his 7-year-old sister and his father, 38-year-old Jeff Napolitano.

“This is all about their future, so they might as well get involved sooner rather than later,” the elder Napolitano said. “Especially because there may not be a later.”

The crowd eventually arrived at First Churches, where speakers railed against war, citing consequences of military action, like environmental destruction and the impoverishment of civilians.

“We came together because we believe war has fallen off the political, social and cultural agenda,” Claudia Lefko, one of the event’s organizers, said over the loudspeakers set up outside of the church.

The speeches were punctuated by cheers from the audience and full-throated renditions of folk songs like Jon Fromer’s “Still Looking For Freedom.”

Ayvazian, 65, spoke before introducing Crowe, whom she called “the mother of our movement.”

“This is what the future looks like, friends,” Crowe told the crowd, drawing loud applause.

Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.

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