Jennie Taylor approached Johnny Ferry ahead of the 20th anniversary of 9/11 last year with the hope that he could help breathe life into an idea.

"She approached me and said, 'Johnny, do you have any ideas for something that we could do as a community to recognize the 20th anniversary of 9/11?'" Ferry said. "I said, 'Give me a day and I'll come back to you.'"

With that, Ferry joined forces with Taylor, the founder and director of the Major Brent Taylor Foundation, and the "Weber Remembers" 9/11 memorial exhibit was created with the hope of sharing the memories, experiences and emotions of that fateful day in 2001 and its aftermath with generations who have been born since the tragic attack.

Now, a year after the exhibit was launched in Weber County, it's come to Davis County with the same mission.

Tours are given of the "Davis Remembers" 9/11 museum exhibit at the Legacy Events Center in Farmington on Wednesday.
Tours are given of the "Davis Remembers" 9/11 museum exhibit at the Legacy Events Center in Farmington on Wednesday. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

The exhibit is a museum-like walkthrough that boasts around 350 picture boards, 20 TV screens and four documentary movie rooms all focused on the history of 9/11.

"The idea, the concept and what we put together was simply just to connect the generations so that we always remember what we promised we would: The events of 9/11," Ferry said.

Visitors will also have the chance to get an up-close-and-personal view of ambulances, military vehicles, police and fire department vehicles, as well as the opportunity to chat with first responders.

The exhibit, located at the Legacy Events Center in Farmington, is free and runs Wednesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Tours are given of the "Davis Remembers" 9/11 museum exhibit at the Legacy Events Center in Farmington on Wednesday.
Tours are given of the "Davis Remembers" 9/11 museum exhibit at the Legacy Events Center in Farmington on Wednesday. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Taylor, whose husband Maj. Brent Taylor was killed in combat in Afghanistan in 2018 while serving with the Utah National Guard, said she wants people who visit the exhibit to feel educated, inspired and "very emotional."

"We want to run you through every emotion that you experienced in 9/11," Taylor said. "If you're old enough, we want you to remember what that was like — whether you're old or young, we want you to experience those emotions."

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Steve Casquarelli is a retired Fire Department of New York firefighter who worked at Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center Towers collapsed, on 9/11. He came to the Beehive State to help Ferry and Taylor open the exhibit.

As someone who lived the events of 9/11 from about as intimate of a perspective as one could have, the exhibit means a lot to Casquarelli.

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"We've got to walk away with the feeling to be vigilant for the future, not just as individuals but as a community, as a nation," Casquarelli said. "There are a lot of lessons to be learned from what happened that day, (and) we need to learn these lessons and bring them forward so our future is better."

Canyon Creek Elementary sixth graders wave their flags at motorists as they walk to the "Davis Remembers" 9/11 museum exhibit at the Legacy Events Center in Farmington on Wednesday.
Canyon Creek Elementary sixth graders wave their flags at motorists as they walk to the "Davis Remembers" 9/11 museum exhibit at the Legacy Events Center in Farmington on Wednesday. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

For Taylor, everything hangs on how well we "teach and inspire our children," something she hopes the exhibit can help accomplish.

"I really am hoping to help raise up this amazing generation of young Americans who want to come together regardless of skin color, race, nationality — any of the differences we have — I'm looking to help find the common ground, find the unity," she said.

The exhibit will certainly have the chance to leave an impression, as Ferry said it expects to welcome around 10,000 students between Wednesday and Saturday.

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