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GAINESVILLE, Fla. --
A High Springs police officer is being honored-- a century after his death. City leaders, officers and community members paid homage to one of their own...The late Deputy Sheriff George Lasonro Bryant was killed on duty more than a century ago. The statue is located right in front of the high springs police department. .
"Chief Anterio called us up and asked us if we could make a small plaque for him," says Michael Adams from Mystic Makings. "And I said. I think we can make something a little bit more extravagant than just a small plaque."
That's when Adams and his family decided to donate the monument in honor of Bryant. "All of our work and design and the materials we put into it were free, "Says Adams.
Historians in the city of high springs say having a little piece of history in High Springs is the key to keeping the city's history alive. Bryant is the only officer killed in High Springs and the first officer killed while on duty in Alachua County. His death in 1908 was marked as one of the first of it's kind in the area.
"If you do not know your history, you do not know where you have come from," says historian Cheryl Waterman. "You don't know why you are the way you are, and you don't know what you should tell your children."
The High Springs Museum has archives of articles from when Bryant was shot by a drunken man. He served as an Alachua County deputy for 15 years. Historians say Bryant was never remembered by the city and say it's crucial to remember first responders who put their lives on the line everyday.
"Learn from the past and to me it's just really important that he be remembered," says Waterman. And keep the memory of fallen officers alive through the town. Bryant is buried at Springhill Cemetery in Alachua,
http://www.wcjb.com/local-news/2015/12/fallen-officer-honored-monument-high-springs
A High Springs police officer is being honored-- a century after his death. City leaders, officers and community members paid homage to one of their own...The late Deputy Sheriff George Lasonro Bryant was killed on duty more than a century ago. The statue is located right in front of the high springs police department. .
"Chief Anterio called us up and asked us if we could make a small plaque for him," says Michael Adams from Mystic Makings. "And I said. I think we can make something a little bit more extravagant than just a small plaque."
That's when Adams and his family decided to donate the monument in honor of Bryant. "All of our work and design and the materials we put into it were free, "Says Adams.
Historians in the city of high springs say having a little piece of history in High Springs is the key to keeping the city's history alive. Bryant is the only officer killed in High Springs and the first officer killed while on duty in Alachua County. His death in 1908 was marked as one of the first of it's kind in the area.
"If you do not know your history, you do not know where you have come from," says historian Cheryl Waterman. "You don't know why you are the way you are, and you don't know what you should tell your children."
The High Springs Museum has archives of articles from when Bryant was shot by a drunken man. He served as an Alachua County deputy for 15 years. Historians say Bryant was never remembered by the city and say it's crucial to remember first responders who put their lives on the line everyday.
"Learn from the past and to me it's just really important that he be remembered," says Waterman. And keep the memory of fallen officers alive through the town. Bryant is buried at Springhill Cemetery in Alachua,
http://www.wcjb.com/local-news/2015/12/fallen-officer-honored-monument-high-springs
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