East Jesus, West Virginia -
Mystery Three Crosses of Mercy

Please help, as this is driving me crazy. All along I-81, through the states south of the Mason-Dixon line, I see trios of simple wooden crosses along the side of the highway. Sometimes they're tucked kind of far back, sometimes right next to the road. Now, granted, I was driving 15hrs on 3 hrs sleep, but my well-rested passenger saw them also. Any ideas on the meaning of this ? [Joe Fanelli, 02/10/1997]

[RA: Those sets of crosses were all put up by the same man, Bernard Coffindaffer, a once-wealthy West Virginia businessman. He spent more than $2.5 million putting them up after a vision following open heart surgery told him to start building "crosses of mercy." The first trio was built north of Charleston, WV, and eventually some 1,800 were planted across 29 states. Coffindaffer's crosses are two pale blue ones and a yellow one, painted these colors to represent the colors of the sky and the light of the sun over Jerusalem. The crosses are treated with a saline solution and built to last 35 years. Coffindaffer eventually went broke, and died in October, 1993, after more than ten years of building.]