THUNDER BAY -- The removal of the distinguished metal colt that sits atop the former Hillcrest High School has become a lot more controversial than anyone could imagine.
A plan to auction the iconic statue off has been met with sharp criticism from some in the social media brigade, many of whom believe the colt should stay right where it's at.
“It should stay there forever!! This is sad,” one Facebook comment reads.
“I understand people have a lot of nostalgic feeling when it comes to this horse. It is synonymous with Hillcrest,” said labourer Chris Tingey, who started a nostaligic trend on Facebook by posting pictures of things he found while digging on the site as part of the current condominium project. .
"But it is going to an auction and money is going to charity. That’s a beautiful thing to me.”
The building's owners plan to donate, dollar-for-dollar to an as yet unnamed charity.
Unfortunately for those wanting the historic horse to remain on site, the contracting code dictates it must be removed due to its size and sharpness of the edges.
Tingey said the reaction was shocking.
“I didn’t expect a lot of the negative feedback. It didn’t make much sense to me.”
Tingey, who works as part of the demolition team on site, said he caught the attention for former students when he unearthed a common school supply.
“It all started with a ruler,” he said.
As he began finding certain objects, he figured some might be of nostalgic value to former students and staff.
That’s when he began posting his findings on the Facebook page Thunder Bay Memories, which boasts slightly fewer than 20,000 members.
“Can someone tell Nancy Romick I found her long lost ruler?” Tingey posted on April 26, alongside a picture of the measuring stick.
For weeks Tingey found joy reconnectnig some of the objects with the former staff and students to which they belonged.
The colt was an entirely different story.
“I guess with all the buzz I got from that, the (condominium) owners thought it’d be a good idea if I could post the upcoming auction," Tingey said.
“They didn’t want it to go to waste,” he said. “They don't want it to trash it. They don’t want to scrap it. They want to auction it off, and donate dollar for dollar to a charity.”
The auction, which will still go ahead despite the controversy, will be held sometime in August, although Tingey said there is no concrete date.
