Residents commemorate rebuilding of Memory Grove

There is the philosophy that something must be destroyed in order for it to be properly rebuilt. Maybe that is why the tornado landed in Memory Grove 10 years ago.

It did not destroy everything, but it left the park utterly devastated.

The tornado landed in Memory Grove at the end of its run Aug. 11, 1999. It swirled for 10 seconds and felled 173 trees.

Around 50 people, including Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker, gathered at the park Tuesday to remember the tornado's impact and commemorate the efforts in the years since to rebuild Memory Grove.

An audience gathered in Memorial House, the largest structure on the property, and watched a projection of video clips documenting the tornado. Outside, children participated in a scavenger hunt as a way to help them "get to know their park," an organizer said.

"This park might not but be restored, but it is renewed," Mayor Becker told the audience, pausing several times during his remarks to collect himself. "I look at this room, and so many of the people who are here are the reason we have a park today."

Remarkably, only scratches were inflicted on the manmade structures on the property.

"Trees fell in circles around them," said Candy Deubler, a groundskeeper at Memory Grove. "The only building that was touched by a tree was the Meditation Chapel, but it didn't do a thing to it."

R. Kurt Cook, deputy chief of the Salt Lake City Fire Department, was one of the first responders the day the tornado hit.

Cook recalled driving the city in his SUV, trying to reach the places hardest hit. Roofs were peeled from houses and thrown on the ground. Windows and doors were sucked out and strewn just about everywhere. All that was missing, to the eyes of a firefighter, was fire and death.

When he arrived at Memory Grove, he saw the gnarled roots of 100-year-old trees facing the sky.

Today, the strongest presence left behind is in the sugar maple saplings that dot the road leading into the park. The old trees that hung over it were destroyed.

"You look around here, a lot of these trees are young," Cook said. "You try to look back in time after 10 years and see how we've become more prepared. The tornado really heightened our awareness, especially when it comes to natural disasters."

e-mail: mgonda@desnews.com