Fall 2015: Funding, a new partner, and the possible finding of one of Smith’s brass crosses

Connie Lapallo came aboard in October 2015. With a small budget, we had to decide how Smith’s brass crosses would be commemorated. Would it be granite? What size? What would be engraved. I designed a cardboard prototype.

In the fall of 2015 three things came together: The discovery of an original cross was made public; I got a partner in Connie Lapallo; and Joel Dunn sent me a Conservancy check.  

Connie was both an immediate second opinion and an energizer. Various individuals have been called in over the years to advise and review and go in the field, but there is nothing like a minute-by-minute, back-and-forth exchange. Two people are more than twice the energy, and the conversation never stops. We also found that in approaching prospective cross hosts, a man and a woman together opened more doors. 

The so-called original cross find turned out to be a dud. It was discovered in 2010 but was hushed until it could be verified by 2015. It was a genuine “brass” antique with the proper cross formy shape, yet sadly after much testing it betrayed modern tampering. Until it did it raised everybody’s temperature.