HOT PURSUIT

Bricks from what once held Owatonna High School together for more than a century have been flying off a designated pile about as fast as officials can place them.

Owatonna Director of Facilities Bob Olson has been a little caught off guard by the interest in the bricks removed by demolition crews at the old high school. On the first day of demolition, Olson’s crews hauled three skid loader buckets of bricks to a spot where folks could safely retrieve them. They were gone within an hour and a half.

“At one time we had 10 cars lined up,” Olson said. “People were scrambling to get bricks. Some were filling their vehicles with bricks.”

One guy wanted 600 bricks to build a fire pit, according to Olson. However, most of the bricks are going to nostalgic lovers just wanting a piece of Owatonna’s history.

Olson told me he decided against selling the bricks because he found it would not be cost effective. “I didn’t want to waste taxpayer money by cleaning up the brick,” he said.

As of Monday, Olson said the bricks have bene mostly picked over and there aren’t many left. He quickly pointed out that the bricks are not in the best shape. “The bricks crumble right to the ground,” he said, noting most of them are 100 years old.

“The walls are just brittle,” Olson said. “When things get to be 100, they are brittle just like we would be.”

Demolition crews have been recycling metal, steel, brass and aluminum from the school. Any proceeds from the recyclables will go directly to the demolition company, Rachel Contracting of St. Michael, Minn. Olson explained how Rachel came in with a somewhat lower bid on the overall project knowing they would make additional revenue from recycling.

Olson joked about how it appears like Thesaurus Rex is chomping away at the old school. “They have a set of jaws and pull the iron and metal right out of it,” he said. “They are stripping everything on their own. I did not want the headache of recycling.”

As Olson monitors the demolition process, he has made one important observation. “I know the community made the right decision to take it down,” he said.

He is pleased that the district will be repurposing the area by constructing a district office and keeping the gymnasium for gymnastics. For the first time, gymnasts will have their own facility as the district has been renting an area at the fairgrounds for years.

The old agriculture building will be turned into a facilities department for Olson and his crew. Olson said the district will still be utilizing the entire site, but just in a different way than what has taken place for the past century.

There has been a steady stream of curious onlookers monitoring the demolition. Olson reminds people to keep out of the fenced area. “It’s a dangerous site,” he said.

Crews will be in hot pursuit of converting the site from ruins to creating a new home for district officials by July.