1. Polly and Dr. Richard Conkling, who live on
John Anderson Highway in Flagler Beach,
pose with their Nativity scene, which has
grown over the years through the mysterious
donation of several statues and other figurines.
NEWS-TRIBUNE/PATRICK GROVES
ANONYMOUS ADDITIONS
Flagler Beach couple's Nativity scene growing
without their help
'We call it the Miracle on John Anderson Highway'
By Patrick Groves
Correspondent
Published: Tuesday, December 22, 2015 at 12:20 p.m.
FLAGLER BEACH — Each year in December a
Nativity scene along the lightly traveled John
Anderson Highway grows, thanks to mysterious
donations.
Different individuals and animals featured at
the birth of Jesus are dropped off in the middle
of the night by mysterious benefactors
who never reveal themselves to Polly and Dr.
Richard Conkling, who since 2007 have set up
the traditional Christmas scene at the end of the
sandy driveway they share with neighbors off
the highway in Flagler Beach.
“We have no idea what started it,” Polly Conkling said. “It became ‘what’s new
today?’ and kind of a little game.”
Richard Conkling first built a shelter, placing Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus statues
inside outside their home at 5207 John Anderson Highway. He said his goal is to
create a manger scene that looks native to Florida, using palmetto leaves stapled to
the roof and sides of the structure and Spanish moss to line the ground.
“We started out very simple,” he said. “We’ve never taken away anything that people
have put out there.”
Things stayed quiet for the first few years, with slight alterations, such as painting
the figures and display lighting. The only early additions were wise men bought by
the couple and two plywood sheep built by Richard Conkling and his granddaughter.
Then, in 2010, a deer, pig, cow, goose, goat and a chicken all appeared, one by one.
Some had labels from where they had been bought, but no other leads as to who may
have dropped them off, the Conklings said.
“The interesting thing is that no one has ever identified themselves and we have no
clue as to who brought the various figures and left them for us and anyone who
should pass by to enjoy,” Richard Conkling wrote on the couple’s 2012 Christmas
cards sent out to friends.
While Conkling said he enjoys all the donations, his two favorites are an angel
dropped off in 2011 and a 6-inch plastic alligator. He said he likes the alligator
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2. because he believes it was left by a child.
Polly Conkling said the angel is the heaviest piece and they had to figure out how to
modify the structure to accommodate it. The angel now sits on a platform
overlooking the creche. Her favorite piece is a donkey, which is tethered to a stump
“so he won’t wander off.”
The latest addition, arriving two weeks ago this year, is a shepherd who sits next to a
wise man attending the Christ child, she said.
“It’s just so fascinating to us that people leave figures continuously,” she said.
She said the structure and statues are set up after Thanksgiving and stay up until
New Year's Day. Richard Conkling first constructs the shelter and then adds the
creche. For the past few years, he has relied on the help of his two sons and four
grandchildren.
“It is not a big splashy display,” Richard wrote in 2012, “but just a simple gift for,
and I guess you could say by, our neighborhood.”
Upkeep and construction of the scene has become more difficult for the couple as the
years have passed. The two retired educators have lived in Flagler County since 1977,
said Richard Conkling, who worked as assistant superintendent and media specialist
for Indian Trails Middle School before his retirement.
“We have animals all over the house the rest of the year,” he said.
He said last year he contemplated donating the manger set to Whispering Meadows
Ranch, a Christian nonprofit that helps disabled individuals through interactions
with horses.
However, Polly Conkling said she insisted the couple and their family could keep the
Nativity scene going for a few more years before donating it to the ranch.
The couple often hears stories of items being stolen from Nativity scenes and find it
amusing to be in a reversed situation.
"We call it the 'Miracle on John Anderson Highway,'” Polly Conkling said.
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