Roadside Crosses and Memorial Complexes in Texas

Folklore, April, 2000 by Holly Everett

In response to a number of recent discussions of death customs, including the selection and placement of funeral flowers and the erection and maintenance of roadside shrines (Drury 1994; Walter 1996; Monger 1997; Smith 1999), I would like to present a brief overview of similar traditions practised in central Texas. I completed a master's thesis in folklore at Memorial University of Newfoundland in August 1998 on roadside crosses erected in memory of automobile accident victims, primarily those extant in the Austin area. [1] The thesis encompassed thirty-five memorial sites, most of which still stand. In addition, a number of new crosses have gone up in the metropolitan area since I completed my fieldwork in the spring of 1998.

Roadside crosses adorn the roadways of many regions of the USA. In the south-western states, the roadside shrine tradition dates back to the early days of Spanish exploration and settlement in the Americas (see, for example, De Leon 1963, 417; Berlandier 1980, 284; Barrera 1991, 278). Syncretism between Catholic and native belief systems resulted in vigorous and unique shrine customs from Florida to California (Kozak and Lopez 1991; Griffith 1992; Edgette 1997; Owens 1997; Zimmerman 1997). Crosses erected along Texas roadways today reflect varying belief systems and aesthetics, ranging from traditional Catholic shrines topped by nichos (a small niche in which religious icons are placed), to crosses inscribed with quotations from popular cinema. [2]

As I have stated, the bulk of my thesis explores the roadside cross memorials of Texas's capital city, Austin. Whereas roadside crosses in the USA have historically been, and in many cases continue to be, a rural phenomenon, the Austin metropolitan area's active roadside cross tradition is distinctly urban. Shrines are erected on busy street corners adjacent to megastores and fast food restaurants, in the medians of multilane roadways and freeways, and on private property. Such memorials incorporate any number of changing elements, including flowers (both fresh and artificial), toys, photographs, ceramic figurines, handwritten notes, religious objects (saint statuettes and pictures, rosaries), seasonal decorations such as Christmas ornaments or Easter eggs, and car parts collected from the wreckage of the inciting accident. Crosses are often, although not always, the centrepieces of these memorial assemblages.

Scholars and other writers often comment upon Austin's unique character, as a liberal and progressive city in a generally conservative state (see, for example, Grider 1999). One county official whom I interviewed cited the city's comparatively radical attitudes as a reason for the plethora of roadside memorials, an expression of grief, affection and creativity to which Austin residents feel they have a right (Reed 1997). Furthermore, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) spokesperson John Hurt asserted that Austin's political status, as state capital, contributed to a "hands-off" attitude toward the memorials on the part of city, county and state officials who do not wish to upset or offend their constituencies (1997).

Texas's cultural heritage is another contributing factor in the character of Austin area residents' expressive behaviour. For example, the state's religious composition historically includes a melding of Spanish Catholicism, aboriginal people's belief systems, and various Protestant denominations, perhaps most notably Southern Baptist (Ramos 1997, 486). In fact, a breakdown of Texas's population by religion reveals a marked split between Catholics and Baptists, manifesting itself in a north--south divide. The Austin metropolitan area, a part of Travis County, sits squarely on the figurative ideological border, with Catholics making up a slight majority (Ramos 1997, 488-9). Thus, Austin area memorials may be read as a manifestation not only of grief and affection for a loved one suddenly departed, but also as highly representative of the region's cultural syncretism, as my research demonstrates. Contemporary memorials in Austin are erected by people of varying religious affiliations. Indeed, most of my principal informants were Protestants of various denominations who did not identify roadside memorialisation as a practice "belonging" to any specific group.

Some area residents attribute the increasing appearance of such memorials in the city, however, to the erection of the first Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) memorial cross in south Austin in 1984. Jennifer Solter, a retired nurse originally from Manitoba, brought the handcrafted, white wooden cross to Austin three years after founding the Heart of Texas chapter of MADD in 1981 after her daughter, Sara, died in an alcohol-related auto accident earlier that year. Sara's cross established the pattern for all MADD crosses in the Austin area. Crosses erected through the Heart of Texas MADD chapter are white, two-foot high structures bearing a red plastic plaque at the crosspiece (Fig. 1). Each plaque bears the accident victim's name, and dates of birth and death in the following manner: