In Catholic circles and greater society, the Knights of Columbus have made their mark, promoting the practice of the faith, the Culture of Life and an untold amount of charity. Their presence is also known locally in a tangible way.
When Region residents drive on area roads or stroll near neighborhood churches, reminders of the core belief of the Catholic faith – the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross – have stood tall because of the “crucifix fund” and the efforts of Knights starting in the 1950s.
According to research by longtime K of C fourth-degree member Jeffrey Gadbois of St. Michael the Archangel in Schererville, the successful drive to erect seven wayside shrines started with a “$20 raffle for a Cadillac” in 1954. The large crucifixes were destined for spaces near busy thoroughfares.
“What the Knights of Columbus Abraham Lincoln assembly did over the course of years is that they erected seven different crucifixes in high-visibility areas around Lake County,” said Gadbois of the initiative announced decades ago by the late Knight Al Vinick. “A lot of people have expressed much interest in this history.”
The wooden crucifixes installed “as a tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our liberties,” and standing up to 16-18 feet tall began to appear at locations, mostly private land plots, about one a year from 1954-62.
On Nov. 11, 1954, the first crucifix was dedicated on a piece of property called Jordan Triangle at 6th Avenue and Dunes Highway. The memorial, which still greets westbound travelers entering the downtown Gary district, was noted in Knights records as “a site prepared with the cooperation of Gary city officials.”
In 1955, the Wicker Park wayside shrine was dedicated and remarks said at the public Mass were entered into the U.S. Congressional Record. Within two years, crucifixes were added to Wirtz Farm in Merrillville, and then on the grounds of the future Franciscan hospital site in Dyer, welcoming eastbound Route 30 travelers into Indiana.
Memorials at the new Andrean High School in Merrillville and then at a private business in Cedar Lake joined the list of wayside shrines. A crucifix was added to the then-Franciscan Our Lady of Lourdes Friary also in Cedar Lake.
The crucifix originally set at the Cedar Lake business was moved to the former Capuchin Monastery in Schererville. When the property was sold to The First Baptist Church of Hammond and Hyles-Anderson College was created, the crucifix was moved to its present location near the Pastoral Center at 93rd Street and Broadway.
Further moves included the Wirtz Farm memorial being relocated to the property of the then-St. Anthony Hospital in Crown Point. With the selling of the Franciscan property in Cedar Lake, the crucifix from the grounds has been moved into storage and awaits installation near Route 30 at St. Michael the Archangel parish.
“The crucifixes are a statement of faith; it’s the centerpiece of our religion, what we believe,” said Gadbois, who has served the Knights as a past Grand Knight, past Faithful Navigator and former District Deputy. “We take a lot of pride in (maintaining) the wayside shrines.”
Most of the crucifixes feature landscaping and some included lightning and outdoor furnishings for pilgrims to use. The post-war baby boom era spanning the Dwight D. Eisenhower, and then John F. Kennedy, administrations may have been more welcoming to the display of faith symbols as civic memorials and neighborhood art than in subsequent years.
Gadbois explained that the weather was not the only foe to the standing of some of the crucifixes. Sometime after the memorial was constructed to the southeast corner of Wicker Memorial Park in Highland, a non-believer objected to the cross with corpus being set in a public park and threatened legal action.
The Most Rev. Andrew G. Grutka, the first bishop of Gary, believed, at the time, that the Knights and the Church could win a case based on the protections offered in the U.S. Constitution, particularly the First Amendment.
“There was a complaint from an atheist concerning a religious symbol in a public park. I know he threatened a lawsuit,” said Gadbois, who consulted Knights’ notes. “This went back and forth for quite some time. And it was actually Bishop Grutka who told the (Abraham Lincoln) assembly that he thought we could win that lawsuit ... but then he said, ‘Don’t you think that money could be better spent?’”
In 1993, after more than three decades serving as a memorial centerpiece, but then under threat of litigation, the Wicker Park crucifix was moved to a more welcoming home on the southeast corner of the St. James the Less grounds, also on a busy intersection in Highland. Munster businessman Thomas Rogan donated materials and labor to construct a new base for the relocated sacramental.
Maintenance on the wayside shrines has not been consistent during recent decades, though inventories and beautification efforts have been sporadically launched. Repairs including replacing the wood with stronger more pest-resistant types have proven successful. Knights including Gadbois are redoubling their efforts and hope to gain support from area faithful.
Gadbois will deliver the keynote address at the annual Clergy Appreciation Dinner set for Oct. 30 and hosted at the Griffith Knights of Columbus Hall.
Fourth Degree Knight and District 2 Deputy Steven Malone said past Grand Knight and former District Deputy Michael Ticich will be presented as the new diocesan chairman at the gathering.
According to Malone, the event, open to priests and deacons serving in the diocese, is one way the Knights endeavor to show their respect and support to those who minister.
“In a sense, we see the priest as not just being those individuals that provide great sacrifice, but them being brothers,” said Malone. “We want to show our appreciation and give them an evening to kind of kick back and relax, to not really stand on ceremony.”
Caption: A large crucifix, one of the original "wayside shrines" commissioned by diocesan Knights of Columbus is set on the grounds of the Pastoral Center at 93rd Ave. and Broadway in Merrillville. The 1950s era memorial, originally erected at a Cedar Lake business, was moved to the since-converted Capuchin Monastery in Schererville, and then to its present location at the southeast corner of the diocesan hub. (Anthony D. Alonzo photo)