Father of nine children ranging in age from 25 to 2 months? Roman Catholic? You think?


Baldwin man vows to keep 24-foot lighted cross in yard
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
By Sarah Steimer and Mary Niederberger, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Baldwin Borough resident Carl Behr informed borough council at its meeting Tuesday night that he would not remove a 24-foot illuminated cross from his property as he had been instructed to do.

Mr. Behr received a letter from the borough Monday, following a neighbor's complaint, stating the cross was not in compliance with borough code and must come down within five days.

Mr. Behr said the cross, which is nailed to a tree on his property at 1210 Robbins St., is "about the Lord." Those who want it removed, he said, are against God.

"This is a message I have to deliver," he said, and thanked his neighbor who complained because he said it allowed him to share his message with more people.

Mr. Behr, 45, said today that the 24-foot cross that is affixed to a tree on his property is a message to the world that it is time to "make a choice -- are you with the Lord or against the Lord?"

Mr. Behr, the father of nine children ranging in age from 25 to 2 months, said he has been a practicing Roman Catholic all of his life and that he is a member of St. Elizabeth parish in Baldwin. But things have changed for him in the past year.

"Something that's happened to me in the last year is that my journey to the Lord has gotten really strong," he said.

He said it was a message from the Lord that prompted him to erect a small lighted wooden cross on the roof of his home three months ago. Then on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 6, he received another message from the Lord telling him to erect the 24-foot cross.

He said he missed the first half of the game, in which the Steelers played the Packers, to finish the job. He lit it for the first time that night.

He admits that the crosses appeared around the time that a neighbor complained to borough officials about items from his contracting business that he had on his property and construction vehicles parked on the street. But he said those complaints have nothing to do with the crosses, the largest of which shines directly into the home of the neighbor who complained.

Mr. Behr said the placement of that cross was to ensure that it is seen throughout the valley below.