From the archive: Threats force move of Cape LaCroix Cross

A threat by the Freedom From Religion Foundation 25 years ago this month led to the removal of the Cape LaCroix Cross from a state right-of-way to private property, and eventually to a new home in downtown Cape Girardeau.

Published March 28, 1995, in the Southeast Missourian:

The concrete Cape LaCroix Cross, which stands along North Kingshighway near Mount Auburn Road, has come under fire from the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, which wants it removed from the state right-of-way. (Fred Lynch ~ Southeast Missourian archive)

GROUP WANTS CROSS REMOVED

By CHUCK MILLER
Southeast Missourian

A monument commemorating three priests that floated down the Mississippi River and landed at Cape Girardeau in 1699 has been targeted by a Wisconsin-based group that says the concrete cross violates the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of separation of church and state.

Freedom From Religion Foundation says the Cape LaCroix Cross off North Kingshighway should be removed from the state right of way. The foundation said in a statement released this week that they were calling on the state to "remove a cross illegally placed on public property in Cape Girardeau, Mo., the 'land of Limbaugh,'" a reference to conservative radio and TV talk show host Rush Limbaugh, who hails from Cape Girardeau.

The cross was erected in 1947 with a plaque built into the base that reads: "In 1699, Fathers (Francois Joliet de) Montigny, (Ambrose) Davion and (Jean Francois Buisson de) St. Cosme, French Missionaries, erected a cross where this stream entered the Mississippi and prayed that this might be the beginning of Christianity among the Indians."

Annie Laurie Gaylor of Freedom From Religious Freedom said the cross serves Christianity and has no place on public land.

"We're not asking to destroy it, just move it," Gaylor said. "There is no precedent for the government to allow a cross to be put on public land. It just doesn't belong on public property."

Gaylor said the group wrote the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department Nov. 28 about removing the cross from the state right of way. She said the department responded to the foundation in a Jan. 10 letter saying a legal review was being conducted.

"We thought it was time to do more than just 'review it,'" Gaylor said on releasing the statement. "We wanted some media attention for this."

Calls to the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department weren't returned Monday afternoon.

Gaylor said the foundation became aware of the cross after a member from the Cape Girardeau area contacted the group.

She refused to reveal the name of the foundation member. "There may be some backlash to this," she said.

Freedom From Religion Foundation has 3,300 members nationwide. The group, founded in 1978, also is known for efforts to remove the words, "In God We Trust," from U.S. currency.

"We're a group of atheists and agnostics," Gaylor said. "We want to promote a non-theistic way of life, but our primary focus is to keep church and state separate."

Gaylor said the group also is suing Colorado for having the Ten Commandments on a stone in the state Capitol. Other states also have the Ten Commandments in their Capitols.

"Jefferson City has that too," She said, "but we want to see how the suit in Colorado turns out before we pursue the others."

Gaylor predicted victory for the foundation if removing the cross became an issue for a court to decide.

"It's not winnable for the state," she said. "It's just a waste of money to fight it."

This wasn't the first time authorities were petitioned to move the monument. In 1988 Laura Keller, in an effort to preserve the cross, asked that it be moved from its original site along U.S. 61 to Arena Park.

Keller's mother, Adene Keller, had inspired the creation of the LaCroix marker. Dr. Felix Snider, former director of Southeast Missouri State University's Kent Library, designed it, constructing the mold for the concrete cross in his garage on Rose Avenue. The monument was unveiled with much pomp on Oct. 12, 1947, before a crowd of 250 people. Mrs. Keller, however, wasn't in attendance. She died on May 3 of that year.

While the Cape Girardeau Parks Department agreed to the move in 1988, it never happened. The following year, it was decided the cross would become a feature of the proposed hiking and bicycling trail along Cape LaCroix and Walker creeks. It was even suggested that a small park might be designed around the memorial.

The demand that the historical marker be moved from public land by the Freedom From Religion Foundation in 1995 caused quite a debate in Cape Girardeau for a short time. Eventually, the land on which the marker was located was deeded by the state to nearby landowner Dr. Christopher Jung, ending the question of a Christian symbol being located on public property.

Finally, the historical marker found a new home on the lawn of Old St. Vincent's Catholic Church in downtown Cape Girardeau in 2009, just before Easter.

You can read about the move here and view a video.