I possess, among many other traits, an abiding curiosity.

A couple of weeks ago, while driving back to Rangeley on a Saturday morning from a small, socially-distanced, gathering of good friends in Yarmouth the prior evening, and not being in any particular hurry, I thought I would get a closer look at what looks like a carefully-placed pile of rocks in a field with an elaborate metal “fence” running over it, as seen from Route 4, just north of beautiful downtown Madrid.

I have noticed (and you probably have as well) that pile of rocks for a number of months, while having no idea what it is all about.  That curiosity finally got the best of me, and being in no hurry, I turned in to the nearby E.L. Vining Construction site headquarters (If you haven’t noticed, they have been working on Route 4 and a couple of bridges in that area for a couple of years now).

I parked my car well out of the way of the heavy equipment running back and forth…and walked a couple hundred years toward the rock pile for a closer look.  Enroute, as I walked along a dense line of 5-6’ tall white pine trees, I heard voices on the other side of the trees.

Thinking I might get some explanation beyond just a closer look at the rocks, and what turned out to be a very unique “fence” made up of abstract, pointed shapes made from 1/4” thick aluminum running over the rocks, and still having no idea what I was looking at, I walked back on the other side of the rows of pines toward the voices.

One of the two older men I found working on a shrubbery garden lined with large rocks amid the pines, saw me coming and stopped what he was doing, and with a very friendly demeanor, eagerly engaged me in the impromptu conversation I was hoping for.  His name is John Boyko.  He is in his early ‘80s, and is the owner of the surrounding 40 acres of land and the nice ranch-style home at the end of a nearby driveway….and he is the almost single-handed driving force and designer/construction manager/laborer  behind a years-long (since about 2012) project that you have to see to believe from above via a plane, helicopter, Google Earth, or a drone’s video screen/camera (see accompanying photos) to really comprehend.

Once engaged in that very friendly and informative conversation, my initial question or two soon became a series of queries on my part…all answered very enthusiastically by John, as we walked towards the pile of rocks and that curious fence line running over the rocks.

John Boyko standing behind one of 12 aluminum posts surrounding the stone face of Jesus with the ornate Crown of Thorns in the background

Turns out, the pile of neatly assembled rocks depicts the face of Jesus on the cross.  John invited me to climb up on the rocks to get a better look.  I stood on the bridge of Jesus’ nose and looked down into the “eyes” of the face and the aluminum “crown of thorns” above the eyes.  I got the picture somewhat, but the attached aerial drone photos are much better at showing the entire face and cross project.

Aerial view of the upper portion of the project, looking northward.

I, of course, did not have my notepad with me…and since John was so accommodating and eager to tell me all about his efforts, and the reasoning for the project in the first place (which was still a bit unclear to me), I asked if we could get together again for a follow-up conversation the following week.  He said “of course”….and so we did a few days later.

I arrived the following Wednesday, notepad and pen in hand.  We sat down at a picnic table in his back yard, socially-distanced of course, and resumed where we left off, after a review of the details from our initial conversation.  The following are the key facts from our two delightful discussions:

John’s parents immigrated to the U.S. from their homelands of Poland and the Ukraine in 1932.  John was born in 1938 and grew up in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan on the west side near 48th St.  At the age of 17 he joined the U.S. Air Force and served 4 years between the Korean and Vietnam wars.  He was trained as an electronics technician by the USAF, and later, in his early ‘30s, became a licensed electrician in New York.

He ran his own business as an electrician in the city.  Both he and his wife had visited Maine and they later decided to move to the Rangeley area (on South Shore Drive near Rangeley Lake) until moving to his present house in Madrid in 1988.  He got a job at Stratton Energy (the biomass plant) and worked there as an electrician and also did electronics instrumentation work for the company.  He worked there for 19 years, then retired in 2007.  John noted that “I loved my work at that plant”.

In 2011 or 2012, while his wife Rosemarie, was still alive John got started on his very unique project, the “Light of the World Cross”.  In 2016, the year his wife passed away, he finished the rock face centerpiece of the project.  John noted that the project, shortly after he  he started it, “took on a life of its own”.  This brings me to my key question for John: Why?

The answer to that question did not come easy.  This hard-working and very bright and likable octogenarian, who I believe does have a deep faith rooted in his Roman Catholic upbringing,  wanted me to know early on that he “was not religious” to use his own words…but that he “is very spiritual”.  He clearly is working in response to some internal sense of mission…but he is far from being a religious zealot about it all.  He certainly does not engage in self-promotion like a radio or TV fundamental evangelist, and he most certainly does not get preachy about the goals of his impressive one-man project.

Aerial view of the entire Light of the World Cross project. Route 4 is on the right, and beautiful downtown metropolitan Madrid, Maine is somewhere in the distance to the south.

John is very sincere when he says “If one person stops by when this project is completed and reads the 12 informational signposts surrounding Jesus’ head, (in progress, see photo) and is moved to become more spiritual, or at least lead a more spiritual and kind life, much like Jesus’ example…it will all be worthwhile”.  He added “What I am doing is directed by God’s good”.  There you have it!   And speaking of believing….I truly believe him when he says that is his only purpose associated with this personal mission that he has spent many years, hours, and dollars, working toward completion within the next few months.

Before we concluded our second fascinating and enjoyable conversation, John took me down to has basement workshop to show me the first of 12 elaborate aluminum “sculptures” that will be affixed to the 12 aluminum posts surrounding the large, stone head.  The number of posts “represent the twelve apostles and the twelve tribes of Israel”.

In Mr. Boyko’s basement workshop, the first of twelve electrically-lighted aluminum “sculptures” set to be mounted on the aluminum posts surrounding the massive stone head of Jesus.

On each post will be an informational plaque describing each apostle and other details about the overall mission of John’s project.  John hopes to have a sign of some kind next to Route 4 to direct interested folks to turn in, and have a pleasant walk around his huge, horizontal cross of trees, small strategically placed shrubbery gardens, and the large stone face with the ornate and abstract crown of thorns.

Someone along the way suggested that John start a GoFundMe page to allow interested folks to help pay for his efforts that, to date, has been funded out of his own pocket.  If you want to help him in his efforts, you can go to GoFundMe.org and type: Light of the World Cross to find his page.

In conclusion, I want to leave you with a couple more statements by this sincere man who is impressive in so many ways:  “Once you are working for God, it is hard to stop”.  And “Everything will take care of itself”.

Amen, John…amen.

We need to write, otherwise nobody will know who we are.

                                                                  Garrison Kiellor

Respect Science, Respect Nature,

Respect Each Other.  VOTE 2020

Per usual, your thoughts and comments are more than welcome.  In these Covid-19 times, simply launch an email towards allenwicken@yahoo.com.  Thank You!