Excerpts from jg-tc.com:
Many current and retired Mattoon Fire Department personnel gathered Saturday for the dedication of a new memorial on the north side of city hall and for the cookout that followed in the fire station. Two granite plaques on the memorial bear the names of more than 150 firefighters who have served in the Mattoon Fire Department since its formation in 1861. The monument and a new flag pole sit on a concrete pad bordered by landscaping stone and are illuminated by LED lights. The memorial area also contains the Fire Station No. 2 front door marker from the former Lake Land Boulevard fire station.
The monument at the center of the memorial was created by Capt. Keith Orndorff and donated to the department upon his retirement last spring. He collects firefighter memorabilia and used some of these items, including an aluminum deck gun from a fire engine, to craft the monument.
