BLUE RIVER, Ore. – The Holiday Farm Fire destroyed much of the McKenzie River Valley, burning down homes and businesses in September 2020. It left heaps of debris of burnt metal and ashes.
For many residents, nothing was left of the destruction that would be even remotely useful.
However, local organizations banded together and decided to use parts of the leftover to create something new.
“How can we create a memento that will last in this community?” Sarah Koski said with love for Lane County.
Love for Lane County, along with the Eugene’s Arts and Business Alliance, has partnered with Jud Turner, a metal sculptor in Eugene.
Turner grew up with his family traveling in the McKenzie River area and remembers the beauty before the fire.
“It’s really heartbreaking to see how many people have lost and how irrecoverable most of them are,” said Turner. “There is no real way to prepare emotionally for what you are about to see.”
Turner made several trips to the McKenzie River valley in early 2021 to source materials from burned down homes and businesses, all of which were donated by community members.
“Some pieces were decorative, lawn furniture, or patio tables,” said Turner. “Other times I couldn’t even tell what it was, things were burned so badly.”
For months, Turner worked to create a phoenix, a mythological bird known for rising from the ashes. It is about four feet tall and is called Viribus, which is Latin for “strength”.
In the center of the phoenix is a jar of water from the McKenzie River, which Turner made sure to add.
“Water from the McKenzie River is on a ship in the heart of the Phoenix because it’s the heart of the community. I really wanted to include that. Water is the opposite of fire,” said Turner.
On August 26, Turner finally brought the sculpture to its final resting place in the town of Blue River.
It is right across from Melanie Stanley’s home and business. Both were destroyed in the fire.
Stanley said this sculpture pays homage to both its past and the future, as pieces are made by residents who will rebuild as well as those who have chosen not to return.
“Because of this fire, we lost many families that were our older families who have been here for generations. The older parts of them are not coming home. They cannot stand the rebuilding process,” Stanley said.
Stanley is believed to be the unofficial mayor of Blue River, so she won’t be leaving the area anytime soon. It was also important to her to donate for the sculpture herself, not with her own materials, but from her late mother.
“It was super important to me to get this piece in there because I knew it was going to be in Blue River, I just didn’t know where,” said Stanley. “This city was everything to them.”
Now it means even more to have it right across the street.
“I’m super excited because then I can see it every day. She will be forever remembered in this sculpture.”
The phoenix now not only watches over them, but over the entire city. It is a symbol of rebirth for an area that has lost so much.
This way, local residents can imagine what the street will look like in front of them, which is not so intimidating from a bird’s eye view.
“We’ll move up,” said Stanley. “Our community is stronger than it is aware of.”
[ad_2]
