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Those darn winds are to blame for the demise of the Dern Memorial Tree, which lost its stature Wednesday night. The tree was planted 51 years ago at Fort Douglas as a living memorial to Utah's sixth governor _ George H. Dern. Dern was the first Utahn to serve as a Cabinet officer, secretary of war to President Franklin Roosevelt from March 4, 1933, until Dern's death Aug. 27, 1936. The 50-60 foot blue spruce was planted in 1937 by the Utah Federation of Women's Clubs. A spokeswoman at Fort Douglas said officials plan to replace the tree.

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