By Judi McLeod ——Bio and Archives--November 28, 2018
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True life is not only often stranger than fiction, it’s once in awhile, also more beautiful than anything turned out in fiction.
The following is a true story about how a friend in Decatur, Illinois, without even being aware of it, brought back to me the life and times of the late great Daniel T. Zanoza, originator of the now 11-year-old Springfield Nativity Scene—once the only such display to ever stand in any state capitol building in any state across the entire United States.
Through thick and thin Zanoza’s legacy lives on through his wife, Julie, board chair of the Springfield Nativity Scene Committee (SNSC) since 2011. “Today Jerry and I along with our friend Roger went to this event at the capitol in Springfield. Sadly only 25 people came to this, and that includes the people that participated in speaking and a small group of musicians who preformed. The noise from people, Senators, Representatives, visitors was so loud we could hardly hear. I guess they weren’t as concerned with honoring our KING, that beautiful baby born on Christmas Day as we were. One day He will come and they will notice, believe me. “I don’t think people realize that there is a war on Christianity. If Christians don’t wake up and start standing up, we can lose our right to worship. This event was cancelled a few years ago until the Thomas More Society took them to court to allow the manger scene in the rotunda. Secretary of State Jessie White allowed the ceremony to take place. “The manger was placed near the official “HOLIDAY TREE”...yes you read that correctly. Holiday tree.
“I hope people wake up before they lose their rights, not after they are taken. “Here is an article on this event. If you didn’t know about it I strongly suggest that you subscribe to Illinois Family Institute email list or frequently visit their website. Also here is an article from the Thomas More SocietyAlthough we keep in touch over the Internet, the last time I saw Pam in person, she was in tears at the Great March on Washington, D.C., covered by CFP on Sept. 12, 2009. Pam’s tears were tears of joy that go straight to the human heart. They came when she was one of hundreds of thousands of patriot witnesses who cheered on the drums and fifes, who made it after a setback, from Freedom Plaza to the Capitol. “One week ago today, 1.7 million ordinary Americans flooded Washington, DC to defend their country. (Canada Free Press, Sept. 19, 2009)
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“With thousands already gathered in Freedom Plaza in the early morning hours, the fifers and drummers, who were to lead the procession to Capitol Hill, were ordered by district police to start the parade one hour and 15 minutes early. “Revolutionary-era enactors William Temple, of Georgia, and Gene Hoyas, as continental army officer Col. Rash, led the fifers and drummers down Pennsylvania Avenue. It was a page come back to life out of glorious American history...the return of Paul Revere on a September Saturday that was no longer ordinary. "By the time we reached Capitol Hill, a crowd of hundreds of thousands was already waiting to cheer us on” Mr. Hoyas says in a YouTube that recorded the march. “It was a march into history that proved patriotism always trumps politics. “But more than anything else, the march proved in a most inspirational way that no trained seal mainstream media, no Marxist president, no matter how ruthless, can douse the flames of American Patriotism. “William Temple, was in charge of organizing the contingent that was supposed to lead the march. He had contacted all the re-enactors by e-mail, instructing them to assemble at 8 o'clock so they would have time to organize their ranks.
“At 7:30 AM I walked the 4 blocks or so from my hotel to Freedom Plaza. I was struck by the large numbers of people walking there at so early an hour but stunned by the sight that greeted me when I turned the corner and saw the plaza: it was packed with people - almost a thousand had already gathered and hundreds were arriving every minute from every adjoining avenue. “I had never before in my life witnessed anything like this - much less participated in it. At that moment I realized I was about to become a part of history.”Back to my friend Pam in Springfield yesterday. Pam knows that the primary goal of the (SNSC) is to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The secondary mission of the SNSC is to inform the public and media regarding the constitutionality of such expressions of religious faith in the public square. “In 2008, the SNSC made history when the Illinois Sec. of State’s office granted a permit to the group, allowing a Nativity Scene to go on display in the Capitol for the first time in state history. Since 2008, 13 other states have followed Illinois’ lead. The crèche will stand in the center of the Illinois Rotunda, in accordance with the U.S. Constitution which provides for such religious expression in the public square–as long as such displays are privately-funded and temporary in nature.” (Illinois Family Institute) “As we celebrate the reason for the season, I would like to pay tribute to the late Daniel T. Zanoza, former chairman of the Springfield Nativity Scene Committee. Dan headed up the effort to present the first-ever Nativity scene at the Capitol and served as chairman for the first three years. “Although physically blind, that did not slow down his determination to carry out his dream that this effort of displaying the Nativity would endure not only now, but for future generations.” No ‘Holiday Tree’, no politically correct measures, no matter how carefully crafted, could ever trump Daniel T. Zanoza’s Nativity Scene or any of the others that followed in 13 states. In the human heart, the Baby in the Crèche who is the forever wondrous King of Kings, remains eternal.
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