Thanks to Claudia Lefko and the four contributors to the Hampshire Life tribute to our beloved panoramic activist, Frances Crowe.
It feels important to highlight a missing piece — only one of many, of course — of Frances’ legacy: the draft counseling center she created in her basement that resulted in over a 1,000 young draft age men receiving conscientious objector status during the Vietnam War.
In the interview I conducted for my book of testimonials about the draft entitled, “Called to Serve,” Frances told her story — how she drove around picking up hitchhikers, talked fast and drove slow so she could gently persuade them to come to her home where she provided the information about the war and the draft they needed to know to follow their consciences.
I remain in awe of the depth and breadth of Frances’ commitment and feel this part of her anti-war activism needs to be widely known.
Thomas Weiner
Northampton