Protesters Gather to Save Historic Cross

Dozens of leather-clad Christian bikers and a man named Joseph who shared Scripture with friends were among a group of demonstrators who turned out at a rally Saturday to save a historic cross overlooking downtown Ventura.

The towering 91-year-old cross, perched atop Grant Park, off Cedar Street and Ferro Drive, has become the subject of intense debate and proposed legal action between those who want to preserve it and others who maintain that the religious symbol violates laws separating church and state and should be removed.

“I think it’s important to take a stand,” said Oxnard resident Mark Brandl, who was among about 75 people at the rally on the steps of City Hall.

“The cross has been here so long that it is part of our heritage. We shouldn’t be removing symbols that bring people together.... I’d hate to see us taking all the crosses out of Arlington cemetery just because it’s public land.”

The historical landmark, site of countless marriage proposals, weddings, religious ceremonies and picnics, sparked debate in March when three Ventura County residents teamed with a San Francisco attorney to force the city to remove the landmark or sell it. The city has not decided.

Stan Kohls, a retired teacher who lives in Somis, is one of the three residents fighting for removal of the 24-foot-tall cross. He has said it needs to go because it’s an “advertisement for religion in a public park.”

Chris Coleman of Simi Valley, a member of Bikers for Christ, stood beneath a giant “Save the Cross” banner and said the cross was not about religious rights or separating government from religion.

“The cross has been here long enough that it goes beyond religious significance. This cross is history,” Coleman said as church bells from a nearby mission rang out.

City officials have said that some type of cross has been at the park for more than 200 years, possibly first planted by San Buenaventura Mission founder Father Junipero Serra in 1782. Some historians dispute this.

Audra Strickland, wife of Rep. Tony Strickland (R-Thousand Oaks), said that for history’s sake alone the cross should remain standing. Strickland, who is Christian, said at the rally that “ignoring this history is to ignore the role of Father Serra here.”

The rally, organized by City Councilman Jim Monahan and others, allowed attendees to speak at a cross-engraved lectern, sign petitions to be presented to the council or make a cash donation by purchasing a golf shirt.

Monahan, supported in the cause by Councilman Neal Andrews, wants the council to find a way to save the cross, including possibly hiring lawyers to take the case to top state and federal courts.

Andrews, who told the crowd that he was raised a Quaker -- a group that supports the separation of church and state and whose members are known as pacifists -- said the cross should stay, because it has played a major role in the area’s culture.

“Sometimes, even Quakers just have to fight,” he said.