The jaws of a machine devoured the side of the Wheatley Legion Branch 324 building as demolition began Monday morning.
“Everybody can relate or has a story or a connection or some memory in here, or a family member that served. It's a big part of Wheatley,” said Jessica Hillier, who stopped to take a picture to document the moment.
Many other residents watched the demolition nearby, including Terry Stevenson.
“It’s going to be a crying shame because nothing is going to be there,” he said.
Officials say the former legion has a lot of steel inside and it is expected to take the longest to tear down.
“It's really a sad day for the meeting going down, but hopefully we can move on and move on fast,” said Richard Whittle, president of the legion. He and others are working on re-establishing the branch a block away.
“I was on the building committee when we built this building in ‘85, and now I'm on the building committee again when we build the one in 2024, hopefully. You know, a lot of memories in that building,” Whittle said as he looked on.
In total, nine buildings are coming down, which could take the whole week, or longer.
“These buildings are a reminder of what happened that day and once they're down, the municipality, most importantly, is moving forward,” aaid Paul Lacina, Chatham-Kent’s chief building officer.
He said the noxious gas is being filtered and vented through a scrubber. Floor slabs will not be removed in order to avoid further disturbing the soil.
“The residents can be assured that it's going to be a safe site. No danger to the public,” Lacina said.
Demolition will move down one side of the street and then cross the other side of the block.
For the owner of the Car Barn Restaurant, Barry Broadbent, the teardown signals the end of a 37-year career.
“It's going to be a tough day when the bucket comes down and takes it out of there,” Broadbent said.
Hillier said she and many others are left wondering what the cause was, will an explosion happen again, and what does the future hold for the site?
“For now, I think it's just more everybody getting together and just trying to figure out what do we do next and how can we still help those that still haven't been home yet,” said Hillier.
