Just east of the Kerrs Lake Hall and Church sits a grotto including a cross and white picket fence. The cross was built in 1916 by Mike Slobodian as a meeting place for the Catholic Settlers in the area. As there was not enough money to build a church, the cross served as a place to worship to give thanks to God for their new home in Canada. A wooden fence was built around the cross and five spruce trees were planted nearby.The parishioners pooled some funds together and purchased a crucifix for the cross.
In the late 1920's it was decided that a church was needed in the area. Joseph Baraniuk donated one acre of land for a church just east of the grotto and Protz Ewaskiuk donated one acre for a cemetey. Construction of the church began in 1928 and was completed the following year. The cross and fence built by Mike remained in place but over the years fell into grave despair. In 1997, area resident Joyce Robinson took on the restoration of the grotto after the loss of her grandson Tim Woywada. Tim was killed in a car accident and to help her deal with her grief Joyce began visiting the grotto. "You can go to one neighbor today and cry and another tomorrow but after a while they don't want to hear anymore about it. So I started going to the cross. If you go there and you're really down, it's very peaceful. It's just like Heaven"
Joyce then decided that restoring the grotto would be a great project to keep her mind off her grief. "I needed it and it needed me" recalls Joyce. With the help of her husband Carl, the restoration began. Carl fixed the trim boards on the cross and Joyce filled the holes with caulking. The dilapidated old fence was also replaced with new fence posts and pickets. The spruce boughs and grass had practically taken over the area to the point that the old cross was barely visible. With the area cleared and the fence posts re-painted, Joyce continued to beautify the grotto with flowerbeds and stonework. She made a stone walkway up to the cross which is surrounded by a flowerbed on each side. Each year Joyce purchases and plants petunias, geraniums and impatiens for the grotto. She also maintains the area by picking weeds, mowing the grass and watering the flowers.There is also a picnic table there for visitors to sit and enjoy the shrine and take in the peacefulness of the area.
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