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MURRAY — A new memorial was unveiled Wednesday night, and it's a little different than what we're used to seeing. The work of art behind Fire Station 81, 40 E. 4800 South, was carved from a big sycamore tree that was on its way out.
Battalion Chief Jon Harris, a 20-year veteran of the Murray City Fire Department, said the idea for the memorial grew out of a need to get rid of the overgrown tree — and a carving hobby he’s been developing for several years.
“I’ve done a lot of bears and eagles and moose, but I haven’t done anything this complicated before,” Harris said.
It took him about a month, but Harris carved that old sycamore into a firefighter ax, flashlight, mustache and all.
“Well, you try to mend a little bit of old tradition and a little bit of how we do things now, and one thing that is traditional is the big mustache,” he explained.
As the project started going forward, another idea popped up: Why not use the newfound space, get some bricks and put the names of firefighters who served in Murray on those bricks?
“The longer I spend with Murray City, the more I feel like … how thankful I am,” Harris said. “And I feel like I should give back in some way.”
One of the firefighters honored is Andy Walkingshaw, who died earlier this year while on vacation in Hawaii.
“He was someone who just got along with everybody. He was someone you would describe as a real quiet leader,” Harris said. “I miss him a lot.”
Now neither he nor any of his fellow firefighters will be forgotten, thanks to a firefighter who saw a tree getting too big and made it bigger.
“Hopefully something that will be around for many years to come,” Harris said.
