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On April 19, the evening before Easter, a new light appeared in the hills of San Juan Bautista: an illuminated redwood cross. It continues a tradition established in 1967 with a cross erected on nearby “Pagan Hill” in 1803; a tradition that was abandoned when it went dark more than 10 years ago.
Members of Hollister-based E. Clampus Vitus Chapter 1848, a fraternal organization dedicated to Western history, built and lit the new cross on land owned by Cara Denny, owner of several businesses, including Daisy’s Saloon.
“There is obviously some religious significance in it with some people,” Denny said. “But for me, it’s about showing the community that there is still a light out there. There is still hope and there is still light in our lives.”
According to an extensive history of the original cross, published in the Sept. 2024 Mission Village Voice as part of San Juan Bautista Historical Society president Wanda Guibert’s “Then… and Now” series, the 1803 cross ceased to be lit when running a new power line to the site was ruled out and the current property owners became unresponsive when approached about other solutions.
The idea for the cross came to Larry Norcross, a member of the Clampers since 2010. Top Hatter Sideshow Bob, had asked him for help building a cross in his backyard. That project fell through, but the idea of building one never left his mind.
“I remembered [fellow Clamper] John Wrobel brought some lumber down from the old Pico Blanca Boy Scout Camp in Big Sur,” Norcross said. “I took a look at it and it was 12” by 12” all solid, clean redwood, pre-planed and cut from the heart of one tree. It was perfect lumber.”
Wrobel, also president of the San Benito County Historical Society, had been storing the redwood at the San Benito County Historical Park and agreed to its use for a cross at some public location.
Norcross intended to erect it in the cul-de-sac at Highways 156 and 101, but a religious organization installed one before the redwood dried out enough to be cut. When Denny heard he was looking for a new location, she offered to place it on her hilltop property outside the city.
“I was happy to give them a corner up there,” she said, “They wanted to try to get it up for Christmas, but with the hail and the rain, I suggested they wait until I had the road leveled a bit. They said, ‘What about Easter?’ And I said, ‘We’re golden; you’re good.’”
After finding a location, Norcross said, the most significant complication was getting the correct permits and ensuring the Clampers would have access to the property to maintain the cross and the solar power system used to light it at night.
According to Norcross, about a dozen volunteers did the work: John Hopper and City Council member Scott Freels worked on the solar panels; Les Woodall, from Woodall Construction, loaned the crew his Gradall crane to lift the cross in the air; Ken Conrad, who installs telephone poles, offered guidance and a plumb bob made of black tape; and a fellow Clamper who goes by Sandman “pretended to be a foreman.”
Other volunteers included Steve and Robert Bautista, who helped bring the lumber from the Historical Park, Adam Jones, from Harvest Time Roadhouse, who ran the skidsteer, John Ingraham, the foreman at San Juan Oaks, who ran the Gradall, and master carpenter Steve Fuentes, who did all the trim work and helped bolt the cross together.
“The project had been going on for a few years,” he said. “But once we got up there, we sunk it down four feet, backfilled it with native base rock, made sure it was perfectly straight, and we were all off the property in less than four hours.
While the cross is visible throughout the city, there is a particularly clear view of it from Abbe Park between 4th and 6th Streets near Muckelemi Street.
“Personally,” Hopper said, “I think it brings inspiration and it provides hope. It brings back some history for those who have driven through here at night and remember a lit cross being on a hill. It’s a great feeling to have done it. Maybe better days are coming for San Juan Bautista.”
Note: The crosses on both hills outside of San Juan Bautista are located on private property and are inaccessible to the public. Please do not trespass or disturb the property owners.
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