Gordon E. Mauss

“My roots are in Murray. My great grandparents settled here in the late 1800’s. My grandfather Mauss was the first Town Marshall and second bishop of the old Murray Ward when it was finished and dedicated. My father and his two sisters were the first triplets born in Utah and were blessed there by Heber J. Grant in 1900. They were born on the kitchen table at our old family homestead at 365 E. Vine St. which is now the site of an LDS meetinghouse.

My father, Vinal Grant Mauss, married Ethel Lind who lived at 6227 S. 900 E. next to Wheeler Farm. During the great depression they moved to California where I was born. I eventually moved to Utah for school and work. When I retired,  my wife and I decided to return to the “land of my fathers” in Murray where we plan to live out our years and re-establish the Mauss identity and presence here. We have purchased burial lots in the Murray Cemetery and our family has made a substantial donation to the Arboretum and Amphitheater in Murray Park.

I have lived in California, Japan, Boston, New York, Canada and Utah and have traveled throughout most of the United States and twenty different countries. When we decided to retire I felt like I had come home to Murray. It has a unique “home town” feeling where many residents have deep roots. I love being part of this community and the heritage I share with so many. I feel at home when I attend Church on what was the old Mauss homestead. Every time I drive by the old Murray First Ward, I feel a sense of pride that my family was a part of the history of that classic old building.

Progress may come and go but history doesn’t. We need to protect our history and honor the identity of this small-town oasis in the Great Salt Lake Valley so that new residents can appreciate its heritage and culture. This can be done by preserving some of the old monuments built by our pioneer ancestors such as The Murray Mansion, The old Murray Theater (where my father played the organ for silent movies) The old Murray First Ward building, and Murray Park. Let’s not let “progress” destroy our history and heritage.”