Saturday, May 16, 1998

Build a cross and they will come

By PAMELA HOWELL / Abilene Reporter-News

BALLINGER -- In the calm of an Easter sunrise or in the moments before a storm stirs the air with the scent of rain, they go.

They may go alone, or in groups. Young and in love. Old and ailing. Thankful hearts. Troubled ones.

They go as curious travelers on an unfamiliar road or as believers from the next county. They go to pray, to meditate, to explore and to marry. Sometimes, even to criticize.

They go because of a 100-foot tall cross made of steel on a small hill south of town. Glinting in the sunlight or illuminated by spotlights. Too large to miss. Too powerful to ignore.

"It's doing exactly what it's supposed to do, to stop and make people think," said Jim Studer, a local business owner who erected the structure known to locals as "The Cross."

"Really, this is not my cross; it belongs to everybody -- and anybody is welcome to go out there," he said.

And go they do.

Thousands, to be exact, have visited The Cross since its dedication almost five years ago. There are so many visitors, in fact, that the Studer family now must place a new visitors book at the site every two months.

The site also features a grotto with bits of stained glass honoring the Lady of Guadalupe, one of Mexico's patron saints.

"We have a large Hispanic population and...we had a large group who wanted to do something (to honor the saint), so Jim offered to build the grotto if the church here in town would place the statue," said the Rev. Hugh Wade of St. Mary's Catholic Church.

On Sunday, the congregation of St. Mary's will commemorate the first anniversary of the grotto, built in honor of the patron saint who Catholics believe appeared in the 1700s to a native Indian and requested that a church be built on Tepayac, a mountain in Mexico City.

Near the grotto, a new meditation area honors St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan order in Italy and who is the patron saint of animals.

"It's just a nice place to sit and relax; there are shrubs around the area and it's a quiet out-of-the-way place for people," Wade said.

The Cross has also become a wedding site. Several people, including one of the workers who helped construct it, have chosen to say their wedding vows at its base.

Studer, who never charges for use of the site, said he understands why couples may choose to get married there.

"It's a beautiful setting and they like to (get married) up there; it's very memorable," he said.

"I believe it's known quite well, not just in Texas, but around the country," Studer said, noting that visitors from as far away as Germany and England have stopped by.

Wade said the structure, which weighs 100 tons, was a way for the Studer family to show its appreciation to God.

"(The Cross) was a thank you for the success of our company here in Ballinger, Studer explained.

"When we arrived out here (in 1988 from Florida) we were very much in debt and things just fell into place, not just because of our hard work but the fact that the good Lord was watching over us," he said.

Studer is president of Buddy's Plant Plus, an 80-person company which produces Miracle Gro fertilizer.

Located on the Studer property off U.S. 83, the entrance to The Cross is always open.

At one time, Studer said he considered locking the gate because of a minor vandalism incident. But an encounter with a family, returning from Abilene the same night, changed his mind.

"One night about 11 p.m. the sheriff's department called and said the spotlights were pointing straight up (instead of directly on The Cross)," he said.

"As I was fixing the lights, this couple on their way back from Abilene drove up and while the grandmother went to see The Cross with her grandson, the grandfather stayed and talked with me," Studer said. "He told me they had gone to pick up their grandson and were trying to get custody of him because their daughter was on drugs and such."

The chance meeting affected Studer.

"It told me that I can't keep people out at night," he said. "If they need to come up there, they can, so I realized I can't lock the gate."

And, when weather conditions are just right, visitors may see shadows of The Cross on low-flying clouds directly overhead.

"A few weeks after the dedication, I took my daughter up there. It was a stormy Friday night." Studer said. "I looked up there and asked my daughter to tell me what she saw. There were three crosses in the sky...three shadows of The Cross, one full cross in the center and two half-crosses in the clouds."

Studer explained that the three spotlights focusing on the structure were responsible for the unique sight.

"It's really something to see when there are low clouds," he said. "I understand other people have seen it also and are very much affected by it."