As a child, I vaguely remember visiting the Grotto in the 1960s during the Christmas season, but that is about all I remember. A few weeks ago I had an opportunity to reminisce with a group of senior citizens, whose memories were better than mine, and after that conversation, I decided I would do some research to fill in some of the blanks about this Christian display south of town that rivaled that other Christmas display we all visited – the lights on Smelter Hill.
Located in the vicinity of 33rd Avenue South and Gibson Flats Road, Joseph Morang began construction on the grotto in 1958, and in 1965 it was opened to the public, free of charge. When it was fully completed, it was more than 200 feet long, contained 200 tons of rock, and included thirteen scenes featuring life-sized figures displayed in stone shrines that depicted several events in the life of Christ, including; the Nativity, the Magi and their camels, the Flight to Egypt, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Last Supper. Displays also featured water, lighting, and music. In 1969, one of the most favorite scenes was “Christ Blessing the Children”, which featured dolls dressed as children of twenty-eight nationalities. More than 40,000 visitors visited that year between Thanksgiving and January 1st.
Helping Morang in this endeavor was his wife, Alice, who painted the statues and sewed the clothing, and William Miller, who was his stepson. Morang later dedicated some of the scenes to the memory of William and his four-year-old daughter, Mary Catherine, who were both killed in an airplane crash in April 1968.
Sadly, Morang committed suicide in August 1975. He was 51 years old. In a letter to the city before his death, he asked that the grotto be kept open, but in November of that year, his wife stated that Morang didn’t understand that nobody else would be able to continue with it as he had done. In a letter she wrote to the editor, she said, “…the spirit of the Grotto was the spirit of Joe and the Grotto died when Joe died”. The scenes were given away and the property was sold.
The Grotto was truly a labor of love, and although it was a sad time when it permanently closed, Joseph Morang exemplified ‘love thy neighbor’ by bringing Christmas joy and peace to the thousands who visited it in the nine years it was open.
Submitted by Sandra Guynn, life-long resident and owner of Big Sky Genealogy
Author: Staff
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