This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
New things are not always better than old things. They seem to satisfy what we want right here, right now and without a second thought, we throw out older things to be replaced with new, "better" things. We fail to recognize what a future generation might see in the seemingly worthless things of today. I say this in regards to a recent proposal to tear down the historical Murray First Ward to make way for new buildings.
People all over the world travel great distances and spend great amounts of money to see old things. Not replacements or pictures, but the actual things. Ancient ruins. Historic architecture. Original artwork. Some of the most magnificent landmarks are only magnificent because they survived time and because we let them survive. People are fascinated with the past and keeping historical buildings alive nurtures that fascination.
Allowing things to grow and change is necessary. However, we can choose to do this while still keeping the things of our past. The Murray First Ward is a beautiful building that is a beautiful part of Murray's legacy and tearing it down need not be the path we choose.
Benjamin Stanford, MHS junior
Murray