My Grandfather, Kay Hansen (Documentary Photo #5555i):

I voted for Church.  Great man.  A great Democrat and liberal in a state that is vigorously conservative.

(Kay is a card carrying member of the ACLU.)

One of the most notable features of the Boise landscape is the illuminated cross that decorates Table Rock and can be seen from just about anywhere in the Treasure Valley. It’s big, gaudy, ostentatious and the brainchild of Frank Church. During his years as a U.S. Senator, Frank maintained a home in Boise on Reserve in the north end (the street that leads up to Table Rock). He was also a member of the local Jaycees (a Christian charity group) and persuaded his fellow do-gooders that the city of Boise needed something to remind them of the presence of the Lord. Strangely enough, the inauguration of the Cross heralded Church’s elevation to chairman of the Senate Foreign Relation Committee which eventually resulted in Church’s investigation into CIA’s activities during the late sixties and early seventies, illuminating and curtailing CIA black operations.

Or maybe it just looks that way.

Evidence at the site: none.

My Mother Deborah Blackburn (Documentary Photo #56y3y):

I knew Frank's daughter.  She taught home-bound students with me in Idaho Falls.  In 1980 she tried to get the cross removed but failed.  I don't think her home life growing up was all that good.