Running with this note is a photo of the Sault’s Cross which was taken by Terry Walker, an excellent photographer, as well as being the daughter of Gerry Ouellette, the official keeper of the Cross and the grounds surrounding it.
You will note in the photograph that the Cross is now fully lit and it attained that status on April 2, just in time for Good Friday and Easter Sunday when some of the technical bugs were ironed out with assistance from Mike Murphy who is a new volunteer to the committee that oversees the Cross and the adjacent grounds.
Gerry Ouellette, who is over 90 years old, and has been the keeper of the Cross since its inception was quite happy to have Mike join him.
Mike is the kind of guy every organization needs. His full-time job is as a letter carrier for Canada Post, but he has organized hockey tournaments and done other community work.
Much work is still to be done on the grounds during the summer so the Cross committee is still looking for more help. And students are welcome too, and many of them have to do community work as part of their graduation process. They need students like Carolyn Sewell, who worked as a volunteer for the past two summers and did a commendable job.
Mike mentioned that someone thought that those working and running the Cross committee were all connected to one particular religious group. “Not true” said Mike. Originally it was members of a number of churches that got together to erect the Cross, but today volunteers are members of different faiths, and some with no faith affiliation at all.
The Cross has grown to become a major tourist attraction so those who built it deserve a lot of credit.
If you would like to volunteer your time to help with grounds work from time to time, or make a financial donation give Mike Murphy a call. He’s at 705-945-9890. Or you can call Emma Naccarato at 705-779-2884.