Have you noticed that one of the three crosses on Lynn Mountain appears to be missing — the one on the far right?

The Lynn Mountain crosses have been part of Elizabethton’s landscape since the early 1950s when a group of junior boys from First Free Will Baptist Church were challenged by their Sunday School teacher to do something “unusual” at Easter time. It almost landed them in jail when a group of the town’s citizens became irate over the cutting of trees and the clearing of a space at the top of the mountain for the crosses.

Three years later a small group of Elizabethton policemen, in a display of community spirit, began lighting the crosses at Christmas time.

Both the junior boys and the policemen wanted to do something for the community. When good will is acted on, good and lasting things happen.

Just as the Lynn Mountain greeting has become a Christmas tradition, the three crosses on the mountain have been a mainstay and are there to remind us daily of our faith. The crosses were removed for a brief time in 2006 when the Lynn Mountain Christmas tree was rebuilt, but were soon rebuilt and placed on the side the mountain. Just as the Christmas greeting is not only enjoyed by local residents, the crosses are a focal point on the mountain, and visitors look for them as well as local residents.

Especially at Easter the crosses cause us to look up and remember what the holiday is all about. In the beginning, some members of the First Free Will Baptist congregation hiked to the mountain early on Easter Sunday for a sunrise service.

The crosses are a community landmark, and it is our hope that someone will take responsibility and see that the missing cross is replaced before the Easter holiday. It is one of those landmarks that sets our community apart from other towns in the Northeast Tennessee area.

It is also a landmark that causes us to look up from time to time and realize where our blessings come from. The crosses have been a beacon of hope in some of our darkest times — Sept. 11, 2001 and in 1998 when Doe River raged and raced from its bank leaving a flood trail from Roan Mountain to Elizabethton, just to mention a couple of those times. For many, the crosses have caused them to look up in some of their darkest moments.

We hope to see the missing cross on Lynn Mountain again, soon.