BALD KNOB CROSS BECKONS UNITY; CROWDS AT ANNUAL SUNRISE SERVICE IN THE THOUSANDS

ALTO PASS, Ill. -- When worshipers visited the Bald Knob Cross for Easter Sunrise service earlier today, it marked the 60th annual sunrise service atop Bald Knob Mountain near Alto Pass, Ill.

The visitor's center at the site of the 111-foot Bald Knob Cross was open Sunday for visitors who arrived early for the 6:30 a.m. service, conducted by the Rev. Richard Hays and the Rev. Bill Vandergraph.

"We never know how many people will attend these services," said Lorene Lingle, a charter member of the Bald Knob Cross Of Peace Foundation, which was created in 1995 to raise funds for maintenance of the giant cross, which rests on the highest point in Southern Illinois.

Two years ago, during a downpour of rain, the crowd barely topped the 400 mark. A year ago, with good weather, more than 3,000 worshipers attended services.

Crowds have ranged from 250 the first year to a peak of 3,500. Many people flock annually to what was once an obscure mountain a few miles.

The cross is an attraction throughout the year, drawing more than 40,000 visitors annually.

The story of the Bald Knob Cross has been told many times but it is still one which can warm hearts and involves people from all walks of life from all parts of the world.

Even a mongrel dog, a sow and her litter of 21 piglets played vital roles in providing funds for the massive project.

The idea came about 60 years ago when two men were walking down a country road following a service at a rural church. The year was 1936.

The late Wayman Presley, who served 25 years as a rural letter carrier and became a businessman, and the Rev. W. H. Lirely were discussing the need for closer unity among the many Christian dominations and religious groups, and the need for a meeting place to bring all dominations together.

Why not Bald Knob Mountain, one of the higher points in the immediate Southern Illinois area? Presley and Lirely started spreading the word, calling for an Easter Service atop the mountain.

A crude cross was fashioned from railroad ties by members of a nearby Civilian Conservation Corp camp. And, on Easter Sunday, Presley, Lirely and some 250 other worshipers attended the 1937 Easter services.

More worshipers joined the 1938 services, and later, three crosses were fashioned from native trees by a Sunday school class. These still stand. Still later, a 40-foot neon cross was placed on the forest service fire tower at the site.

By this time, thousands of worshippers were filing into the area each year for Easter Sunrise services. The idea of a permanent cross came to mind.

Presley borrowed money from an area bank to purchase the Bald Knob property and established the not-for-profit Bald Knob Christian Foundation. Each member pledged $100.

It was at this point that the mongrel dog and Old Betsy, a sow owned by farm widow Mrs. Myrta Clutts, who pledged her $100 to the project, came into play.

Mrs. Lingle, the daughter of Mrs. Clutts, said her mother didn't have the money then. "But, she felt the Lord would help her raise it," said Mrs. Lingle.

Shortly afterward, Old Betsy gave birth to 21 piglets, more than three times an average pit litter. Betsy didn't have enough "dinner jugs" for all the pigs so Mrs. Clutts' mongrel dog, which had lost her new-born puppies, pitched in to raise five of the piglets. The dog nursed them and stayed with the pigs until they were larger.

Old Betsy, the sow immediately became famous. Her picture, with the great litter, was shown throughout the county.

The piglets were eventually given to Presley. He took the females of the litter, built a hog barn on the widow's hillside farm, and started raising pigs. Presley soon had 100 brood sows, which produced 1,500 pigs.

At this point, Presley distributed the pigs to farmers in the Southern Illinois area, who raised the pigs and sent the proceed to the cross fund as pigs were marketed.

Over a three-year period, sales of the pigs accounted for more than $30,000 for the cross project.

More funds were accumulated when Presley appeared on "This is Your Life," a national television show. Ralph Edwards, the program's emcee, asked people to contribute to the program.

They did.

More than $100,000 was raised, with contributions ranging in demoninations from pennies to dollars coming in from every state and Canada.

The towering cross, which can now be seen from several miles away, was completed in 1962.

"This was the way I wanted this cross to be built ... by contributions from people of all religions and all parts of the world," said Presley during a dedication ceremony in 1964.

Today, maintenance of the cross is still accomplished through contributions from visitors and by the volunteer work of local residents.