CASAR, N.C. — In between the rolling hills and farmland of Cleveland County, when night starts to fall, a lit cross standing 45 feet can be seen in Casar.
- More than a million lives have been lost to coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, according to the CDC
- A Cleveland County couple built a memorial for those affected by the disease
- A cross stands more than 45 feet tall and lights up at night
- Gene Meade, 82, built it, along with a lit sign that is seen around his hometown of Casar
"I just was thinking one day, 'I need to do something, and I know exactly what that is, build a tower for COVID victims,'" said Gene Meade, owner of the lit memorial.
Meade and his wife Carol have been married for more than 50 years, and Carol Meade says even at 82 years old, her husband will not take a day off.
"He is constantly messing with things, building things, tinkering and that's how he's been all the 50 years that I've known him," Carol Meade said.
Gene Meade is a retired pilot, and he loved tinkering with planes and engines. Once he retired, he kept improving things around the house and tackling seemingly never ending projects.
Gene Meade said during the height of the pandemic they lost friends, family and neighbors to COVID-19.
One day in the shower, he recalled, where his ideas come fresh to his mind, something told him to build a memorial for all the victims.
"And I already had this metal tower, which is for our internet. I've had to keep adding to it every year because the trees are getting taller, so I thought, 'Lets make it into a cross and put lights on it,' so it would be a lighted cross seen for miles away," Gene Meade said.
It took him a few days and a few trips to the hardware store, but he got it done. Next to the tower is a beautiful wooden sign which reads, "Memorial for those we have lost."
Gene and Carol Meade say dozens in the community have reached out to them, appreciative of the memorial.
"I hope when people see it, it makes them feel special," Carol Meade said.
