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In 1936, rural mail carrier, Wayman Presley and Reverend William Lirely began talking about a place where people of all beliefs could come together as one.
Soon, they decided on beautiful Bald Knob and, in fact, celebrated the first Easter sunrise service on Bald Knob in 1937.
Then, the ambitious project began to raise enough money to erect the 111 ft tall cross which now sits atop the Knob. The Cross would eventually have a foundation of 730 tons of reinforced concrete which goes down 20ft.
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It would not be easy. People from all walks of life were asked to give $100, if they could. A fantastic public relations campaign ensued. In 1955, Wayman Presley was the surprise guest on Ralph Edwards's "This Is Your Life." Rev. Lirely and many of those who had been instrumental in raising money were guests on the show.
One of those guests was Myrta Clutts, who became known as "the pig lady." She earned that name because her sow, which should have had seven, or so, piglets, gave birth to a litter of 21 little pigs. She had a dog who had given birth to a litter of puppies who didn't survive. She gave half the piglets to her dog to raise. When they were old enough, she farmed them out, one per farmer. When each pig was ready to sell, most of the money went to the building of the cross.
Thousands of ordinary people like you and us from all over the world donated and the Cross was finished in 1963.
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| William Lirely |
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Future Easter sunrise services would have thousands of people come and be part of the tradition which continues today. The beautiful lighted Cross can be seen for 7,500 square miles. |
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