The Aurora Historical Society will offer visitors the chance to reflect on the mass shooting at the Henry Pratt Company in Aurora almost four years ago with an exhibit opening Friday.
On Feb. 15, 2019, a disgruntled employee at Henry Pratt killed five employees and wounded five police officers and an employee.
From Friday through Feb. 18, the five white crosses made by late Aurora resident Greg Zanis to honor those killed in the mass shooting, along with the society’s collection of memorabilia left at the Pratt site by mourners, will be on display at the Aurora Historical Society exhibit at the David L. Pierce Art and History Center at 20 E. Downer Place in downtown Aurora.
The exhibit will be open from noon to 4 p.m. Wednesdays to Fridays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.
The display has been offered by the Historical Society every year since the 2019 tragedy to honor the victims of the shooting – Trevor Wehner, Vicente Juarez, Russell Beyer, Clayton Parks and Josh Pinkard.
Aurora Historical Society Board President Mary Clark Ormond said there will be no significant changes to the exhibit as compared to years past other than moving the exhibit’s location in the building.
“We’re putting (the exhibit) back on the first floor. Last year we moved it upstairs because we thought, maybe, it would fit there but people want it on the first floor and so it’s coming back,” she said. “We’ll have plenty of breathing room and plenty of space for any other activities.”
Historical Society Executive Director John Jaros said of the exhibit that “this year and every year from now on it’s always going to be in the first-floor gallery.”
He said at the Historical Society “February is always going to be devoted to the Pratt tragedy. We won’t schedule any other exhibit until that’s out of there.”
“Yes, it’s a tragedy but it’s important to remember it and it happened, and there were living people whose lives were snuffed out and others who were wounded physically and mentally for who knows how long,” he said. “It is a big part of our history, and I think there is a feeling that people like to commemorate that and give respect to the people that lost their lives and the responders who came out and saved things.”
Ormond said over the past few years, no new items have been given to the society concerning the mass shooting “but what people do give us is their continued interest.”
“I’m always impressed by people who, I believe, have no personal connection to the tragedy but they come every year and look at those crosses, pray at those crosses and just want to pay their respects,” she said. “It’s a good feeling for us to be able to offer that option for people who otherwise might not be able to.”
She said remembering the mass shooting in Aurora in 2019 is important.
“You have to deal with what has happened and this year, the past year has been so horrific nationwide, worldwide, in terms of man’s inhumanity to man and this helps us realize that we are part of a long train of history that unfortunately seems to have sped up over the past year or two,” she said. “We’re sorry to be in that position of having our own story to tell, but we have to do it and it makes us feel connected to the wider world as well.”
The Aurora Historical Society, Jaros said, also has a duty to make sure artifacts from the tragedy are available to future generations.
“We’re a perpetual institution and we’ll always be the stewards for the crosses and the memorabilia that are associated with that and the time after,” Jaros said. “Whether it’s 20 or 50 years from now, they’ll be able to take things from that day out of safe storage and put them on display.”
Aurora Historical Society officials said there are several videos of the first anniversary exhibit, including the original song “Aurora Strong” by local singer-songwriter Bradley Green and archived television coverage. All are online at www.aurorahistory.org, according to officials.
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.