On Sunday night, a group of arts-minded Humboldtonians gathered at the old Humboldt Collegiate Institute to say goodbye to Sutherland Theatre by performing on its stage, or watching the performance from its seats, one last time.
It was a celebration of the theatre and all that has gone on there in the past 36 years - it was officially opened in August 1975, after its conversion from gym to theatre was complete.
But there was a sad tinge to the event - there was no way to prevent it.
It's hard to say goodbye to something that's been a part of the community for so long, no matter that a consensus was reached to let it go, to not pour any more money into it, but instead look at building a new theatre sometime in the future.
New stuff is always surrounded by an air of excitement. It's shiny and fresh and usually smells really good.
But no matter how dull and scratched or musty the old version of the new thing is, there can be pangs of sadness when you say goodbye to it.
That's something that came to me as I left the new Humboldt Collegiate Institute last week. It was definitely exciting walking around that new building that was just a few hours of work away from being completely done. The new features pointed out to me by my tour guide were definitely impressive, especially the library space, with its huge windows and abundance of natural light.
But as I was leaving, after hearing that the staff was going to start transitioning to the new school this week, something struck me. The students of HCI and the staff, many of whom have worked there for decades, will be bidding their old school building goodbye in the next few days.
No matter how much this new school has been anticipated - and I know that it has, by staff, students and parents alike - there has to be a bit of sadness in saying farewell to the old building.
It was that way for the hospital staff.
I was able to walk around the old hospital building after many of the services had been moved to the new facility last April. I read the messages written on the walls by staff - listing how many years, months, weeks, days and hours they had worked there, some of the memories they had made there, and how sad they were to leave, even though they were excited about the new building.
Realizing that I would likely never walk the halls of that hospital again was even a little hard for me, and the only time I had spent there was when I conducted the odd interview, or got some blood taken for testing.
Last week, leaving the new high school, I realized that when I went to the concert on Sunday night, it would likely be the last time I would be in HCI as it presently stands, before it turns into a construction zone. That got me feeling sentimental, though I had never attended school there.
The silver lining behind the school move is that some of the old school isn't going anywhere. While parts of the structure will be demolished, other areas will remain standing, and will make up part of the new home for the Humboldt Public School.
So all will not be lost.
One of Humboldt's last buildings from the early 20th century - the original Humboldt Public School structure - will be knocked down, and that will hurt those who have a love for these old structures. Much like when the hospital went down, I expect many people will come out to say goodbye when the wrecking ball comes.
That will be a sad day, for sure. But on the bright side, the children of this community - high school and elementary - will have the chance to go to school in brand new, state-of-the-art facilities. That's pretty cool.
