A bronze figure stands guard near the Harmony Fire Department. His proud stature carries the weight of not only his firefighting equipment, but also the honor and commitment of many firemen who have come before him, of those who serve today and of those who will follow in the future.
The statue arrived earlier this summer to take his post, nearly three years after the idea was born in the minds of a former firefighter’s family.
“My dad passed away and my brother and myself and our wives wanted to do something,” said Stuart Morem. “We donated $1,000 to a memorial fund, to grow upon.”
That initial memorial was made in honor of Dean Morem, who died on October 6, 2016. He was a 40-year member of the department, serving as chief for 19 years.
Stuart, himself was a fourth generation fireman, having served on the Harmony Fire Department for 44 years before his retirement. His three sons are currently members of the department.
As the idea for a memorial began to take hold, Stuart reached out to his fellow firefighter and friend, Chris Skaalen, whose family has also established a legacy in firefighting.
“It started out as an idea, and when I gave the check to the fire department, I asked Chris Skaalen to help me with it,” Morem said. “We had served on the department together for a long time and have been good friends.”
Skaalen quickly agreed and explained, “At the time, he and I were the longest serving members on the department. As the ‘old guys’ we don’t have a whole heck of a lot to do, so this was a good project for us.”
Skaalen, nearing his 40th year in the department, explained that his father had served on the fire department in Rushford and now both his sons have joined the Harmony department with him.
The family connections are definitely one of the main reasons the men felt the memorial was needed in Harmony. Not only do many members of the department follow the traditions set by fathers and grandfathers, but others serve with brothers, cousins and uncles.
“It’s definitely a family thing,” said Skaalen. “We wanted to do something to honor those who gave of their time and who gave up holidays and celebrations with their families.”
He also noted that the firefighters who serve together also quickly become like family — creating strong bonds of friendship and loyalty.
From the very beginning, the proposed memorial was to be dedicated to all the past, present and future firemen — not only from the Harmony department, but to all area firefighters.
Morem explained that he and Skaalen enlisted the help of Jason Ressman of Lanesboro,
a landscape designer who helped create the initial design.
In May of 2017, those initial plans were presented to the Harmony City Council and the council gave its approval to begin fundraising based on the initial designs.
In June of that same year, the council approved the construction of the statue and the city’s contribution of replacing sidewalks and curbs near the memorial.
“It is important to remember all members, past and present,” said Kyle Morem, a council member at the time and also a Harmony firefighter. “We consider it an honor to serve our community and assist when the need arises. There is a unique bond between firefighters: friendship, respect and trust.”
Stuart Morem and Skaalen traveled to Kimball, Minn., to meet with an artist who creates bronze statues and whose work can be found all over the United States.
“We did our homework and found this company, which is very impressive,” Stuart said. “We chose bronze because we want the memorial to be there for a long time.”
Skaalen explained that this company produces human-like statues in basically two sizes: a two-thirds size and a full-size. “We had gone up there thinking we’d go with the less expensive option, the smaller size, but we were not even half way home and we had decided we would have to work harder to raise the funds needed to go with the life-size statue,” he added.
In December of 2018, Skaalen approached the city council to approve the down payment for a 70-inch bronze firefighter statue to be created by Brodin Studios, Inc., in Kimball, and to enter into a contract with the company.
At that time, $52,000 had already been raised through private donations.
Morem explained the department had started the fundraising by sending letters to the families of former firemen — both retired and deceased. “The donations were absolutely incredible,” he added. “The retired firemen and the families of deceased firemen were absolutely generous in their donations.”
Fireman and Harmony’s mayor, Steve Donney, also noted they received a huge amount of donated labor to prepare the site surrounding the statue and financial support from the Harmony Area Community Foundation.
“As mayor, I was all for it,” Donney said. “The city committed to fixing up the parking lot, curb, sidewalk — things that would help with some of the expense. We all agreed that the memorial money should not pay for some of what the city was responsible for.”
He added that the community foundation contributed quite a bit to give the fundraising another boost. “The community foundation committed to a dollar-to-dollar match on $10,000,” Donney recalled. “Once they had raised the $10,000, the foundation donated another $10,000 as a grant.”
Once the funds were in place, and the contract for the statue approved, the artists began creating the bronze firefighter who would stand guard at the fire department.
The over-two-year process began with a detailed inventory of the Harmony firefighting gear. Skaalen explained that his son, James, put on his turnout gear and was photographed from multiple angles. Then, each piece of clothing and equipment was photographed to capture every detail.
“We sent the artist over 200 pictures of our gear, our equipment, parts of our equipment,” Skaalen added.
The body and face of the firefighter was intentionally created to be anonymous.
Morem said the department could have selected someone’s face to use on the statue, but all agreed that was not the direction they wanted to go. “We didn’t feel that was fair,” he added. “This is about the department, not an individual thing.”
“We were assured it would not look like any one individual,” Skaalen interjected. “As a matter of fact, he gave us a discount because we agreed to use a mold he had created for another of his pieces.”
Once the body and head had been established, the artist created individual pieces to be attached to the base. First he would create a mold from clay and pour molten brass into that mold. Then each piece was polished and colorized before being welded in place on the statue.
Taking nearly two years to create, the arms, legs, hands, head, and helmet were each crafted separately and then welded onto the statue to create a very detailed and accurate depiction of a Harmony firefighter.
“Everything on there is our equipment,” said Skaalen.
He urges individuals to personally go to the memorial, and stand next to the statue to look at the amazing detail the artist created — from wisps of hair on the back of his neck to a carabiner hook attached to the gear.
The statue arrived in Harmony in May and the landscaping and concrete work has been completed. Skaalen explained there will be informational plaques created and installed in the spring, with information provided by the Harmony Area Historical Society. A plaque thanking all who donated and supported the project will also be erected on site.
After those items are completed, a dedication ceremony is tentatively set to be held during next summer’s Fourth of July celebration when Harmony will also celebrate its 125th birthday.
Both Skaalen and Morem are pleased with the way the memorial has turned out and each looks at the completed statue and surrounding site with a feeling of nostalgia and pride.
“It’s huge,” said Morem. “Our family has a long history in the fire department and if you look at the history of the men who serve, it’s usually a family affair. Being on the fire department is a service to the community and we’re pretty damn proud to do it.”
Skaalen said seeing the memorial almost complete feels really, really good. “It’s a really fitting tribute to all the guys,” he said.
All three men expressed gratitude for the residents and areas they serve. “We have been blessed over the years to have great support from our community and we are so very thankful to the people who supported the project and donated,” Skaalen said. “We hope we did them proud.”
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