Among the foothills of the Ozark Mountain range that stretch into Union County and southern Illinois, rises a beacon, a monument of peace, faith, charity, and of hope. Towering above the landscape at over 111 feet, and visible for over 7,500 square miles, this is the Bald Knob Cross of Peace. Bald Knob Cross is situated in the Shawnee National Forest near the small town of Alto Pass, Illinois. BK Mountain itself towers 1000 feet above sea level. But how did a mountaintop in rural southern Illinois become first the site of an annual sunrise service, and later the location of an 111 foot cross? The story begins in the spring of 1936…