There's a new monument watching over the former Harrow High School.
The Hawk Memorial is a tribute to the closed high school and a way for the community to celebrate and remember all that the school was.
Essex Councillor Sherry Bondy, who went to Harrow High, said the community is very emotional.
"It's really something that our community can celebrate. Our high school may not be here any longer but the memories can still live on. We can show that we are resilient and that we can celebrate the fact that we had a great high school here," Bondy said.
Bondy said the idea started last June when she shared a picture of a heart with locks on it and is asking alumni to bring their high school locks and lock them to the hawk.
"People have reached out to me saying they are getting their names and dates of when they graduated engraved on the lock and then they are locking it to the statue," she added.
Harrow High Hawk Memorial. July 3, 2019. (Photo courtesy of Janet Clifford)
Bondy said this is a dream come true and the community will have something to cherish long after the building is gone.
"The memorial is paired with the rock and it's on town property. It's built to last, it's huge. It's almost like a larger than life thing, it's much bigger than I am," said Bondy.
The monument was unveiled on Wednesday afternoon by the tennis courts at the arena.
The project was made possible by three local companies donating their time and material.
Harrow High closed in 2016.
