Orono wants Toronto's big sign — minus the Ts
Toronto is replacing the big block letters installed for the Pan-Am Games with something more permanent
One city's trash is another town's treasure.
As Toronto prepares to replace its aging city name sign with something a little sturdier, the neighbouring community of Orono is hoping to get its hands on the old sign — minus the Ts.
"We want to take what is such an iconic figure and install it in our town somewhere that can be seen from the passersby on the highway and attract them into our beautiful little town so that they can see what we have to offer," Orono resident Mark Rutherford told As It Happens host Carol Off.
Rutherford, a fifth-generation Oronian, has been leading the charge to secure Toronto's hand-me-down letters for his beloved hometown about 90 kilometres east of the big city.
"We've always quipped that Orono is Toronto without the Ts," he said. "I'd rather see that iconic sign in our town than laying in a recycling yard somewhere."
'That light-bulb moment'
The idea came from former Orono resident Dave Stender, who first suggested it on the community's Facebook page.
"I grew up in Orono 25+ years ago and the town has never left my heart," Stender told the Toronto Star. "I just had that light-bulb moment, when I saw the information of the sign being discussed to be upgraded."
And he has support from on high.
The mayor of Clarington, the municipality that encompasses Orono, told CBC Toronto's Here & Now the proposal has energized people in his community and given them a spotlight they don't often get.
"It's a lot fun. It's a great initiative," Mayor Adrian Foster said. "All kinds of people are hearing about Orono that perhaps didn't know that Orono existed."
He said if it all works out, the city will install the sign on the local fairgrounds overlooking the highway.
It was never built to last
Toronto's big block letter sign was first installed at Nathan Phillip Square outside city hall for the 2015 Pan-Am and Parapan-Am Games.
It was supposed to come down after the Games ended, but it turned out to be such a popular selfie-magnet, the city has maintained the temporary structure far beyond its originally planned lifespan.
Last week, Toronto announced it would replace the sign with something more permanent.
But Rutherford says he isn't worried about the durability of the letters.
"We're a small town and we're pretty ingenious," he said.
"I've got a lot of friends who are fabricators and builders and construction people that have all thought this is a great idea and have already offered to provide us with free labour and small community spirit to make this sign as best as can be and last in our community."
City mulling it over
But Toronto might not be willing to part with the letters.
"I am willing to talk to them," Toronto Mayor John Tory told CTV News. "Each letter stands on its own, but I look at it as something that shouldn't be broken up."
The mayor's spokesperson Don Peat said it's too early in the process to say what will happen to the letters, but that Tory has been in touch with Clarington's mayor about the proposal.
"We appreciate the interest that Orono residents have in the Toronto Sign," Peat said in an emailed statement. "It's an iconic sign so we understand why they might want it.
What happens to the extra Ts?
Rutherford, meanwhile, doesn't plan to give up any time soon.
He says the sign would be good for the town of roughly 1,100 people, which gets fewer visitors since a divider was built on in the highway to improve traffic safety more than 30 years ago.
"It's become a bedroom community and over the last, you know, four years the economy is changing and we've lost our CIBC bank, we've lost our Foodland, we've lost our LCBO and some other stores have struggled," he said.
"Any bit that we can have to help us draw people into our community is fantastic."
He even has some ideas about what to do with the Ts.
"I can probably sell them to the Tom Thomson museum or something like that to put some money back into the project," he said with a laugh.
"We've even had suggestions of putting the Ts in close location to the sign ... with a thank you to the City of Toronto for donating the letters to us."
Written by Sheena Goodyear with files from Here & Now. Interview with Mark Rutherford produced by Sarah Jackson.