Eagles’ Ten Commandments monument back on display in Roy
Jim Gallegos, past state president of the Fraternal Order of the Eagles, stands near the 10 Commandments monument in Roy on Wednesday.The monument is on display again in Roy after being removed from city property in 2002.(REYNAlDO lEAl/Standard-Examiner)
Eagles member Fred Wetly stands in front of the 10 Commandments monument in Roy on Wednesday.(REYNAlDO lEAl/Standard-Examiner)
Members of the Fraternal Order of the Eagle (left to right) Jim Gallegos, Fred Welty, Tom Cole, and Richard Jarman stand with the 10 Commandments monument in Roy on Wednesday. (REYNAlDO lEAl/Standard-Examiner)
ROY — It has taken 11 years, but the 10 Commandments monument is back on display in Roy — but it’s not on city property.
The group that donated it, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, has the monument permanently on display in front of its lodge in Roy.
The state FOE donated several monuments to cities in Utah in the early 1970s. The Roy FOE, along with the state, had the monument erected in 1972 at the Roy city offices. It was taken down in 2002 when the threat of a lawsuit was looming. At the time, the monument was transported to the Roy Historical Museum and placed in the basement.
In 2008, Roy FOE member Tom Cole was contacted by a woman from Washington state who was trying to help the city of Pleasant Grove in its fight to keep its monument on city property. She wanted to know where Roy’s monument was.
Cole, upon investigation, found it at the museum and took some photos to send to the woman. He didn’t think a lot about it until he noticed in the city newsletter that the museum was closing and was clearing out its items.
The monument technically could return to the Eagles, so the board members took a vote on whether they would like to have it erected on their property.
“We are glad to have it here. We were inspirited to be able to get it,” said Jim Gallegos, Roy club president and past state president. “When (Cole) walked in and told me we could have it in public view, I thought I might kiss him.”
“Everyone wanted it,” said Roy FOE President Dick Jarman.
That’s when the work began.
The monument, which is 5 feet tall and weighs 1,500 pounds, with a 300-pound base, was not easy to move.
The Roy Water Conservancy District stepped in to help out, hauling it out of the basement and to the lodge. Jarman said the move couldn’t have happened without the help of the water conservancy district.
“It was a real team effort. I give them a lot of credit,” Jarman said.
Gallegos cemented the monument in its current spot, and the plan is to put light on it 24 hours a day. Jarman said he has received plenty of positive feedback about the monument. Both he and Gallegos like it on the lodge site, because it represents the ideals of the order.
“We stand for truth, liberty, justice and equality,” Jarman said.
Cole added that one of the rules to belong to the Eagles is to believe in a Supreme Being; so having the 10 Commandments out front is fitting.
Gallegos said the Ogden Eagles chapter also has the monument at its lodge for the same reasons.
“It is quite a story,” Jarman said regarding the travels of the monument and its basically being lost and forgotten for the past 11 years. “It definitely doesn’t belong in a dungy basement.”
Nationally the group donates millions of dollars to various organizations. Currently, chapters across the nation are raising funds for diabetes research. The local chapter holds a golf tournament each year and donates the proceeds to the George Wahlen Veteran’s Home.
The Roy chapter has 300 members, and Gallegos said they keep a good, clean atmosphere there, where people feel welcome and can stand for the ideals listed on the monument.