You are cordially invited to attend Scott County's annual Easter Pageant, "The Road to Redemption." The pageant will be held Good Friday, April 10 at dark in the Scott County State Park. The park is located 12 miles north of Scott City on Hwy. 83.

The pageant began in 1971 at a location two miles north of the present site in Scott County State Park. With a borrowed script, costumes and lights from the Antioch Methodist Church in Buttermilk, Kansas, the first pageant was presented. People in Scott County loaned lights, electrical cords, animals and equipment, and gave time and money to make the pageant possible. The narration was live, the light switch box lay on the ground and was powered by a borrowed generator. But the production went very well because the people of Scott County had worked so hard and given so much of themselves and God had blessed them abundantly.

In 1973, In 1973, the pageant was moved to the present location for better parking facilities. The natural outcroppings and rock formations made the pageant more beautiful and realistic. Electricity was made available and as a result, we were able to add more lights and improve the sound. An old sheep shack was donated and repaired for a control room for the lights, music, narration and sound mixer. The narration was put on reel-to-reel tape and background music was recorded on cassettes.

The crowds continued to grow, so men of the police department and FCA members began to assist with the parking.

Major properties were added when the late Fr. J.J. Dreher built a new tomb, crosses, stretcher, light boxes and tripods for the spotlights in 1975. After the original temple front crumpled in a rain storm (because the pillars were cardboard carpet rolls), Fr. Dreher built a temple from donated plastic irrigation pipe.

In 1976, with manpower and machines furnished by the Scott County men, and with Fr. Dreher's design, the cinder block control room was built. This was a major step enabling the crew to coordinate the pageant more exactly.

The cast and crew has grown from 80 to 200 people. They are volunteers from many churches all over Scott County. Those who participate enjoy a close Christian fellowship along with the work. The goal the crew keeps before them is to follow the scriptures as closely as possible, make the life of Jesus more real to themselves and others, and to glorify God.

There is ample parking with an area reserved for pickups, vans and motor homes. An area in front of the cars is reserved for those who wish to sit outside on blankets.

The pageant was financed during the early years by donations from individuals, churches, and businesses. It is now supported by a free-will offering taken at the intermission of the pageant.

Both major and minor problems have been encountered along the way. God, working through willing and generous people of Scott County, has conquered those problems. We continue to pray for God's guidance and blessing each year as a new pageant is undertaken.

Gwen Huck directs the pageant. She is the wife of Larry, a farmer and ranger, and light control man for the pageant.

The whole idea began one Sunday morning when her pastor mentioned to her that perhaps some kind of Easter sunrise play could be held on the football field. Larry, the high school football coach at the time, said the field would be under construction having a new crown put on it. Gwen knew her father-in-law had a script of a pageant for which he had narrated several years before. She acquired the script, met with the Ministerial Alliance, decided the state park was the best setting and everything was underway. The script has been revised since then, but we will always be grateful to the people of the Antioch Methodist Church in Buttermilk, who generously helped us get started.

"Getting the pageant started just seemed like something God wanted me to do. Through all the experience of working on the pageant, God had taught me about Himself and myself as well. I always ask God to use the pageant to make the life of Jesus more real for those who participate and those who attend," added Gwen.

Synopsis: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

Scene 1: The prophecy

Scene II: The Christmas story

Scene III: Christ in the Temple at the age of twelve.

Scene IV: The Sermon on the Mount.

Scene V: Jesus and the Children

Scene VI: The healing of the lepers.

Scene VII: The triumphal entry

Scene VIII: The cleansing of the Temple

Scene IX: The bargain of Judas Iscariot

Scene X: Signs of the end of the age

Scene XI: The Lord's Supper

Scene XII: The Garden of Gethsemane

Scene XIII: Peter's denials.

Scene XIV: The death of Judas

Scene XV: Christ before Pilate

Scene XVI: The march to Calvary

Scene XVII: The Crucifixion

Scene XVIII: The burial

Scene XIX: The resurrection

The pageant is presented out of doors. Wraps are advisable. You will need access to an FM radio because the pageant is broadcast on a short-range FM radio frequency which can be heard only in the pageant area.

Camp Lakeside will serve a soup supper from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and they will provide a shuttle from the pageant site to the camp. Special live music will precede the pageant.

The pageant is sponsored by the Scott City Ministerial Alliance.

Camping areas are available in the state park. Ample hotel and motel accommodations are to be found in Scott City, 12 miles south of the park; in Oakley, 34 miles north of the park; Dighton, 24 miles east of Scott City; and Leoti, 25 miles west of Scott City. For further information on the Scott County State Park, call 620-872-2061.

For further information about the Easter pageant, call Mrs. Larry Huck at 620-872-3574 or email glh2@att.net.