Polly and Dr. Richard Conkling, who live onJohn Anderson Highway in Flagler Beach,pose with their Nativity scene, which hasgrown over the years through the mysteriousdonation of several statues and other figurines.NEWS-TRIBUNE/PATRICK GROVES

ANONYMOUS ADDITIONS

Flagler Beach couple's Nativity scene growingwithout their help'We call it the Miracle on John Anderson Highway'

By Patrick GrovesCorrespondentPublished: Tuesday, December 22, 2015 at 12:20 p.m.

FLAGLER BEACH — Each year in December aNativity scene along the lightly traveled JohnAnderson Highway grows, thanks to mysteriousdonations.

Different individuals and animals featured atthe birth of Jesus are dropped off in the middleof the night by mysterious benefactorswho never reveal themselves to Polly and Dr.Richard Conkling, who since 2007 have set upthe traditional Christmas scene at the end of thesandy driveway they share with neighbors offthe highway in Flagler Beach.

“We have no idea what started it,” Polly Conkling said. “It became ‘what’s newtoday?’ and kind of a little game.”

Richard Conkling first built a shelter, placing Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus statuesinside outside their home at 5207 John Anderson Highway. He said his goal is tocreate a manger scene that looks native to Florida, using palmetto leaves stapled tothe 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 peoplehave put out there.”

Things stayed quiet for the first few years, with slight alterations, such as paintingthe figures and display lighting. The only early additions were wise men bought bythe 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 mayhave dropped them off, the Conklings said.

“The interesting thing is that no one has ever identified themselves and we have noclue as to who brought the various figures and left them for us and anyone whoshould pass by to enjoy,” Richard Conkling wrote on the couple’s 2012 Christmascards sent out to friends.

While Conkling said he enjoys all the donations, his two favorites are an angeldropped off in 2011 and a 6-inch plastic alligator. He said he likes the alligator

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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 tomodify the structure to accommodate it. The angel now sits on a platformoverlooking 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 awise 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 untilNew Year's Day. Richard Conkling first constructs the shelter and then adds thecreche. For the past few years, he has relied on the help of his two sons and fourgrandchildren.

“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 theyears have passed. The two retired educators have lived in Flagler County since 1977,said Richard Conkling, who worked as assistant superintendent and media specialistfor 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 MeadowsRanch, a Christian nonprofit that helps disabled individuals through interactionswith horses.

However, Polly Conkling said she insisted the couple and their family could keep theNativity 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 itamusing to be in a reversed situation.

"We call it the 'Miracle on John Anderson Highway,'” Polly Conkling said.

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