Star on Davis mountainside shines down on 51st Christmas season
A star lights up the night on the mountainside in Davis County.(Standard-Examiner file photo)
lightbulbs form the star in this 2004 photo; county employees rode 4-wheelers to refuel the generator that provides the electricity. (Standard-Examiner file photo)
KAYSVILLE — High on the bench of the Rocky Mountains, just east of Kaysville and Fruit Heights, a beacon of light shines forth every Christmas season.
For 51 years, the white lights of a star have provided a landmark for many families as they make their way home each night during the holidays. The star is lighted the Monday night after Thanksgiving and continues every night through the end of the year.
“I remember as a young kid driving home from my grandparent’s home in Salt Lake. It was always a contest between the siblings, who could see the star on the mountain first, because that was home,” said Jeff Dunford, 58.He has helped maintain and light the star for 25 years.
Dunford said the star was originally installed in 1961 by the Jaycees. For many years the group maintained and lit the star. Around 2000, the Jaycees dissolved, and the Kaysville/Fruit Heights Civic Committee took over the care of the star.
The 60-foot-by-60-foot star was originally composed of 35 light bulbs strung together with electrical wiring that hung from rebar posts cemented into the mountainside. Electrical cords ran down the hillside to a gasoline-powered generator that powered the lights each evening.
Members of the Jaycees, Davis County employees, Kaysville City Power employees, and volunteers have all contributed over the years by volunteering their time to drive up the mountain each evening — often via snowmobile — to load the generator with the five gallons of gasoline required to run the generator through most of the night.
In 2002, Dunford decided that the star needed a facelift. He contacted the Salt Lake Olympic Committee to inquire about obtaining leftover supplies from the Olympic Rings that lit up the mountainside overlooking the Salt Lake Valley during the Games.
To Dunford’s delight, the committee had plenty of supplies left over, which they donated to the refurbishing of the Kaysville star. Their contribution provided all the supplies needed to update the display.
The refurbishing became an Eagle Scout project for Josh Crookston, then 14, who said he selected it largely because he thought it would be a relatively quick task. However, 118 hours of service later, he found he was wrong in his assumption.
“It took me all summer, and I went way over the required hours for an Eagle project,” Josh, now 24, said.”But, it turned out great. I’m glad I chose the star. It taught me a lot about hard work.”
Josh’s mother, Sherry Crookston, said the star now holds a special meaning for her family.
“It always kind of means Kaysville to us,” she said, adding that her family occasionally refers to it as “Josh’s star.”
The design resulting from Josh’s Eagle Project was essentially the same as the original; however, it was restructured to include a double-wide star to increase its brightness and visibility.
It is now composed of 75 fluorescent bulbs encased in clear glass fixtures which are mounted on rebar posts set in concrete in the hillside. The electrical system was also updated to heavy-duty outdoor wiring.
A gasoline generator still powers the star each night.Currently, Kaysville City Power employees make the trip up the mountain each evening to start the generator.
The lights go out when the generator runs out of fuel, between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m, Dunford said.
The display is left up year round, but the generator is removed in January. Several light bulbs and fixtures have to be replaced each year because of vandalism.
Dunford said the project is currently funded by community donations, a Fourth of July breakfast put on by the Kaysville/Fruit Heights Civic Committee, with Kaysville city covering any remaining cost.
He emphasized that much of the work is done by volunteers. He said:
“Over the years a lot of people have put a lot into this tradition.”