Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Cross Garden in Prattville




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In November we visited the Cross garden in Prattville. It was built by W.C. Rice starting in 1976 after his mother died.  Warnings and scriptures are painted on crosses, washing machines, air conditioners and other large appliances as well as a junk car and a truck. Mr. Rice died in 2004 and his family has said that they intend to keep up the garden, but it is hard to see how such a varied assortment of signage could really be maintained. The large weeds have for the most part been kept down so that it is easy to walk around the garden and see the signs. One part is surrounded by wire to keep people out. It crosses the road and continues to a more limited degree on the other side.The rocks that surround the area have red paint on each one which must have been a herculean task itself, and the paint must represent the blood of Jesus. If you want to know more about this, go to this site.
Roadside America said it would cause you to think, and I certainly agree with that statement, although I doubt that my thoughts were what Mr. Rice hoped it would inspire. I wondered what God thought of this rusty mess  of crosses and signs, but someone else commented that it might have been the best Mr. Rice could do. I did feel like it was a manifestation of a mind that was at least slightly off kilter. (Some might say that some of my yard ornamentation falls in the same category.)
  Interestingly, neither of the two people we asked for directions were at all critical and obligingly gave helpful directions. There did seem to be quite a few fundamentalist churches in the area. I wonder what people in the Auburn/Opelika area would say if such a garden appeared around here.

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