Expansion forces Kearns icon into storage

Millions of cars have driven past it since it was originally erected in 1980. Before that, thousands of students who attended West Kearns Elementary School spent recess climbing on it. Now, the Field Artillery piece known by residents as the Kearns Cannon has been put into storage.

The cannon, along with its accompanying flagpole, were removed Jan. 9 from the corner of 5400 South 4000 West. The move is necessary as the Utah Department of Transportation expands 5400 South. UDOT agreed to let the gateway sit on its property in 1979 with the stipulation that it would need to be moved when 5400 South was widened in the future.

“My blood boils to think that we have now lost out gateway to the community,” said Kearns historian Pam Todd. “Our gateway was the heart and soul of the community. It was the one place we had that filled the community with pride.”

Kearns Community Council members discussed the fate of the cannon during their Dec. 6 public meeting. After discussing a few different options, the council voted to relocate the cannon to Oquirrh Park, near the Utah Olympic Oval. UDOT officials gave the KCC a deadline of Jan. 15 to have the cannon moved.

“The council will store the small items,” KCC member Marlon Brennan said. “UDOT will pay $3,000 to move the cannon, pedestal and the marble slab.”

“It will be back,” KCC member Chrystal Butterfield said. “A lot will depend on when we can get the funding. The $3,000 [from UDOT] won’t cover more than the cement.”

The gateway items will be placed between the baseball diamonds and the entrance to the Oval.

“Something needs to be designed,” Butterfield said. “It needs to be a place where people can gather and reflect on what the memorial represents.”

No time line has been set on getting the new memorial erected.

“I think we need to start a fund to support the Veterans Memorial to not only redo it, but make it better,” KCC member Roger Snow said. “It’s important to this community and it’s important to me personally.”

Not everyone is happy with the move.

“We can move it to wherever, but it will never be the same,” Todd said. “It was put on that corner for a reason, and for that one reason [alone], it has torn a community apart.”