Source: Albany Democrat Herald
http://www.democratherald.com/articles/2004/10/30/news/local/news06.txt
On October 30, 2004 Albany Democrat Herald reported, "on Saturday, more than 20 people made Buddhist prayer flags at the Unitarian Universalist Meeting Room [in Corvalis, OR]. The flags feature images of Jizo, a holy Buddhist figure, and will be given away in Japan in August for the 60th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. About 270,000 people died, and Jan Chozen Bays, a Zen priest from Clatskanie, hopes to create 270,000 images of Jizo... Many of the people making the flags were Buddhists, but others ... weren't. There is growing interest in the religion, though, said Abby Terris, founder of Corvallis Zen Circle, which was started in 1992 and has about 35 members who gather daily to meditate. There are three other Buddhist groups in Corvallis."