In 1939, Provo city erected a substantial, stone crucifix on United States Forest Service land at the base of “Y” Mountain in the middle of Mormon Country. The origin of this anomaly — dubbed by local residents the “Easter Cross”– and the story of its purpose make a suitable tale for the Easter season.

During the 1920s, the Christian Endeavor Society of the Provo Community Congregational Church initiated sunrise services on Easter morning. The youth group held most of these services in their church on 200 North University Avenue, but occasionally, the organization held the services in one of the local canyons.

Since the spring of 1931 was mild and dry, the Christian Endeavor Society decided to hold its sunrise service near the mouth of Slate Canyon. They invited members of the Springville Presbyterian Church and the public to attend.

The services impressed members of the two congregations and the other townspeople who attended them, and Rev. N.C. Wallin decided to hold another outdoor service the following year.

Church leaders changed the site of the services in 1932. The warm, dry weather during the “Dust Bowl Years” caused the waters of Utah Lake to recede, leaving expansive, sandy beaches near the mouth of the Provo River. Since local residents often compared Utah Lake to the Sea of Galilee, Rev. Wallin determined these inviting beaches would make a fitting place to hold the Easter services.

A larger group of townspeople who belonged to a variety of denominations attended the program at the lake that year, and they went away impressed.

The program was such a success that Provo city decided to co-sponsor an interdenominational service in 1933. Under the city’s guidance, the program became more elaborate and gained wider popularity. About 1,000 people attended the program in 1933, and by 1938, attendance had risen to approximately 6,000 people.

Unfortunately, attendance wasn’t the only thing that rose. The severe drought moderated in the late 1930s, and the lake began to rise, inundating the sandy beaches near the mouth of the Provo River. In 1939, the change in climatic conditions forced the executive committee to search for another spot on which to stage the Easter sunrise services.

According to the Evening Herald, organizers of the event turned their eyes eastward toward higher ground and located two suitable sites near the base of “Y” Mountain. The locating committee chose the higher site, which furnished a natural amphitheater on a broken stretch of grassy bench land containing a forest of large rocks suitable for seating. This locality also provided an inspiring view of the mountains, valley and lake.

Speaking of this location with no small amount of local pride, City Commissioner Jesse Haws said, “We feel God has blessed us with this wonderful resource — one the rest of the world would envy, I’m sure.”

Haws served as general chairman of the Easter event in 1939. The Sharon, Utah and Provo LDS Stakes and the Provo Community Church joined school and civic leaders in sponsoring the program.

Provo city and the U.S. Forest Service united to solve the first big problem the program committee faced — getting the audience to the site of the services. City crews widened and improved the road leading from 800 North to the base of the mountain. The forest service widened the road from there to the area that served as the parking lot for a potential crowd of several thousand.

C. Elmer Madsen supervised a group of boys belonging to the National Youth Association as they constructed a wide, walking trail from the parking lot up to the program site — a distance of about a thousand feet.

Early in April, and only about a week before Easter, masons constructed a large, stone cross on forest service property near the edge of the natural terrace where the program committee planned to stage the services. In the Evening Herald, Commissioner Haws pleaded with local boys not to climb on or deface the newly completed religious symbol.

Haws also asked drivers not to take their cars all the way up to the program site, as it would cut deep tracks in the natural, grassy carpet.

Since the program committee expected a crowd of perhaps 5,000 people, they arranged for a public address system that would carry the inspirational words and music to the attending multitude.

Rev. Edwin F. Irwin from Provo’s Community Church served as publicity chairman. He announced that the sunrise services would begin at 8 a.m. instead of 6 a.m., as in previous years. The sun’s rays glisten on Utah Lake long before they reach the foothills. Through the columns of the Evening Herald, Irwin cautioned the audience to wear coats and hats and bring along blankets and car robes to spread on the rocks and grass.

Dull, threatening skies on Easter morning thinned the crowd to between 2,000 and 3,000 people. Policemen directed cars up the dirt road and into the parking lot.

As the services began, the hovering clouds started to lift. To set the tone for the program, the Provo High School Band, under the baton of Wesley Pearce, played a medley of sacred music, after which George S. Ballif issued the call to worship.

After Elvis B. Terry directed the Mendelssohn Chorus in an Easter song, BYU Dean Amos N. Merrill offered the opening prayer. A vocal solo, “Christ Is Risen,” sung by John C. Wright followed the invocation, and the Mendelssohn Chorus sang “The Lord Is My Shepherd.”

John T. Woodbury, head of the bureau of information at the St. George Temple, delivered a hopeful message of immortality.

Then, what was likely the most moving part of the program began. From high on the mountain, a trumpet quartet composed of Virgil Stucki, Jack Tueller, Bill Hanson and Keith Stott, played “Rock of Ages,” and a sacred tableau written by Dr. D. Elden Beck began.

The drama’s purpose, the Evening Herald stated, was “to draw attention more closely to Christ and to create a feeling of reverence and respect for all He embodies, thus leaving the people a silent message of the promise of Galilee.”

The tableau opened with two young BYU students, Lyda Whicker and Darwin Reese, coming up over the rim of the hill near the Easter Cross. They stood for a moment in meditation, looking westward over the valley and Utah Lake. As if right on cue, the sun filtered through the clouds “making a splendid sight to behold as the services neared completion,” the Evening Herald reported.

Then the young couple, representing the newness of hope in the resurrection, approached the rustic cross, which symbolized Christ and his principles. The two knelt near the cross in a prayerful attitude. At this point, John C. Wright sang “The Lord’s Prayer.”

To end the program, the Provo High School Band played “Till We Meet Again.”

The spirit of cooperation engendered by this pageant drew people of every Christian faith together. In 1939, Mrs. W.H. Olsen wrote in the Utah Magazine, “The services are now under the direction of Provo City, and truly it has become a community Easter service, one that belongs to all of the people.”

Provo City, Sharon, Utah and Provo stakes, the Community Church and BYU sponsored the 10th annual community Easter services in 1940, and Provo City Commissioner Jesse Haws served as general chairman once more.

Workmen widened and reconditioned the road to the parking lot and reconstructed and improved the trail from the parking lot up to the Easter Cross.

The program committee chose to employ the same basic format of sacred music and an inspirational message they had used in 1939, with a few new wrinkles. Dr. D. Elden Beck, a professor at BYU, wrote a new pageant, “The Promise of Galilee,” to replace the tableau used in 1939. He based his new drama on the Sermon on the Mount, and the words of an actor portraying Christ replaced the sermon customarily given by a guest speaker.

KOVO, a local radio station, provided another innovation. As a public service, the station aired the entire program live. Radio station KSL in Salt Lake City agreed to highlight the services in a midmorning broadcast on the Monday after Easter.

The Easter sunrise program also drew national and international attention to Utah Valley. The Canadian Broadcasting Co., the Mexican Broadcasting Co., CBS and European and South American shortwave stations agreed to broadcast an early Easter morning musical program from College Hall on BYU’s Lower Campus.

The program featured the BYU Chorus conducted by Dr. Franklin Madsen. Among the songs sung by the chorus, was an anthem composed by Madsen’s wife, Dr. Florence Jepperson Madsen.

Program participants gathered on the hillside the afternoon before Easter and rehearsed. Dr. Beck requested those wishing pictures to attend this practice so they would not detract from the Easter performance.

On Easter morning, a crowd of 3,000 or 4,000 people took to the hills. Provo peace officers and members of the Civilian Conservation Corps directed the string of cars creeping to the site.

The local newspaper reported the morning freshness made the air “somewhat chilly on the mountain bench” as the people settled onto their blankets and hunkered down in their warm coats, waiting for the program to begin.

At about 8 o’clock, the services began with musical selections provided by the Provo High School Band, a call to worship by a trumpet trio and an invocation by Rev. Edwin F. Irwin. After additional musical selections by the band and vocal soloist, Alene Peterson, Beck’s pageant began.

A group of broken-spirited people, portrayed by members of the Provo Community Church, walked dejectedly onto the grassy stage preceded by BYU professor Ariel Ballif, their leader. The Sunday Herald said the group represented people “from various walks of life who are … lost in spirit and confused in the world of happenings.” The group’s leader informed them that they were “probably at the end of resistance to [earthly] turmoil, and it being the end, they might just as well give up.”

The blare of trumpets coming from high on the mountain caused the dispirited people and the audience to raise their eyes toward the source of the music where they discovered the white-robed figure of Christ, portrayed by BYU professor Morris Clinger, standing above them on the hillside.

At this point, the BYU chorus sang “Grant Us Peace, Oh Lord,” and Christ began descending toward the downcast group of people. A swarm of children scurried up the mountainside to escort him down.

After reaching the waiting people, Christ proclaimed, “At another time I spoke to my people — they too were sore afraid and knew not what to do. Again, I speak such words to you, that you may be comforted and your courage sustained.” The white-robed man then repeated selected verses from the Sermon on the Mount, and Jack Wright sang “The Lord’s Prayer.”

As the music faded, the Christ figure walked toward the Easter Cross. A few feet north of the cross, he faced west, and a group of girls dressed in white knelt behind him and at his side while the BYU Chorus sang “The Lord Is My Shepherd.”

Near the end of the song, the girls arose and walked with Christ over the rim of the hill and out of sight.

The three trumpeters on the mountainside played “Rock of Ages” to conclude “The Promise of Galilee,” which presented in the natural beauty of these surroundings, was likely a very emotional occurrence for many people.

The truly unique experience gained by attending this pageant caused a writer for the Utah Magazine to comment, “Easter comes only once a year, but the message carried to you on the breeze among the rustling leaves of bushes and trees will remain with you when lesser things have faded from your memory.”

Considering the large size of the crowd and the success of the community Easter sunrise service, it is surprising that Provo city decided not to sponsor the event in 1941, but the congregation of the Provo Community Church voted to continue the tradition at the Easter Cross and invited the public to join them. The church planned a simple worship service of music, prayer, scripture and sermon to begin at 6:30 a.m. on Easter morning.

A drizzling rain the week prior to Easter made the road to the parking lot impassable, but church leaders refused to let the weather put a damper on their service. They announced in the newspaper that barring a torrential downpour, their program would take place at the foot of the hill just below the Easter Cross. Mother Nature cooperated, and the sun shone on the services.

From 1942 to 1946, the Community Church sponsored Easter sunrise services at the Easter Cross and Utah Lake, but as the Evening Herald stated in April 1944, “Inclement weather and wartime restrictions on gasoline and tires, kept down the attendance at the outdoor sunrise services.”

Not until the spring of 1947 was Provo city ready or able to sponsor another Easter service at the cross. There were only a few changes from the program presented in 1940. It was Jessie instead of Jesse that took charge. Provo City Recreation Director Jessie Schofield oversaw arrangements, and her committee decided to present the program at 6:30 Easter evening instead of in the morning.

The Provo High School Band and the Mendelssohn, Eighth LDS Ward and Franklin School choruses prepared the music. The congregation of the Provo Community Church again represented the downcast people with Don Beebe as their leader, and Dr. Sanford Bingham portrayed Christ.

Unfortunately, successive days of rain and snow made the road to the mountainside parking lot impassable, and the city canceled the program.

Provo city sponsored the last big communitywide service at the Easter Cross in 1949. Jessie Schofield oversaw the general preparations, Mrs. Faye Buttle directed “The Promise of Galilee” in which Max Golightly played the leader of the people and Sanford Bingham portrayed Christ. Trumpeters from BYU, the Couriers of Song, and the LDS First Ward and West Utah Stake Children’s choruses provided the music.

The committee planned to hold the program at 5 p.m., and Schofield made arrangements to use the Provo Tabernacle in case of inclement weather.

The Daily Herald and KOVO co-sponsored the broadcast of the services. Special shortwave equipment carried the program to the KOVO transmitter. Henry Keyes and Cloyd Anderson handled the sound engineering that made the program audible to both the live and the radio audience.

Late on Easter afternoon, drivers began to wend their way toward what the Herald called “a setting of beauty comparable to that of the distant Holy Land.” The road leading to the foothill parking lot only supported one-way traffic, so sightseers were barred from using the road that evening. The city police and members of the Lion’s Club allowed cars to travel up the hill until 5 p.m. No vehicles could travel down the road until after 6 o’clock. Rivergrove LDS Ward Senior Scouts under Scoutmaster Rex Larsen helped patrol the lot.

In an effort to provide rides for those who didn’t own cars, a bus that normally transported workmen to Geneva Steel Plant picked up pedestrians on the corner of University and Center streets and drove them to the parking lot.

The throngs who attended this successful community service at the Easter Cross were blissfully unaware that it would be the last of its kind. In April 1950 after a very harsh winter, a terse notice in the Daily Herald announced that there would be no Easter pageant that year. “Uncertainty of the weather, which hampered observances in past years, was a main factor in the discontinuance,” the notice read.

Ironically, a community Easter egg hunt replaced the program at the Easter Cross in 1950, and the pageant symbolizing rebirth and eternal life died a quiet death and remained defunct.

Groups of students from BYU apparently used the Cross for outdoor Easter services during the 1960s, but it gradually became a destination for hikers, picnickers and those seeking a peaceful place for a moment’s solitude and contemplation.

Sometime in the last several decades, the Easter Cross died a violent death, likely at the hands of vandals. It currently lies forlornly among the scrub oak, broken into three large pieces and awaiting resurrection.

D. Robert Carter is a historian from Springville. He can be reached at 489-8256.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page F2.

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