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Mid-Island disappointed to see Howard leave, but they are excited in Saanich

Some show support for new Saanich home; others hoped he’d remain ‘local’
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Ray and Rob Galey sit on the Spittoon Saloon porch with David Gray at the Galey Farms site in Saanich. Gray will be leaned on to fix Howard the world’s largest Gnome when they take him apart, and reset him at the farm, hopefully in time for the fall. (Travis Paterson/News Staff)

Howard is headed south, and what you think about that depends on where you live. And what you think about giant gnomes.

Howard, the eight-metre gnome declared by Guinness to be the world’s biggest, has spent the past two decades along Highway 19 near Nanoose Bay, has found a new home at a family farm in Saanich .

And while the Galey family is excited to add him to the list of attractions that pull thousands of people to their farm each year, people i the mid-Island area are disappointed the iconic figure won’t be staying closer to ‘home’.

Pauline Nelsen, owner of Treasures, Curios and RV Park on Winchester Road in Coombs, said she’s “very disappointed” Howard isn’t going to be living on her property.

“Why would he go to Saanich? I thought they wanted to keep him local,” Nelsen said. “I was disappointed when [the family] told me I didn’t have [Howard] but I thought ‘well, cool at last one of the other places around here got it’. I’m not very happy about it at all now that I know it’s going to Saanich.”

Nelsen thinks Howard would have fit perfectly in Coombs.

Howard’s fate was put in jeopardy last month when the property owners of the Chevron gas station, where he’s stood since 1998, announced he needed to be moved by April 30 or he’d be torn down. Bridget Matewish, granddaughter of the man who built Howard, Ron Hale, said due to legal reasons Howard had to find a new home.

READ MORE: Giant gnome finds new home at Galey Farms in Saanich

Last week, a shortlist of five potential new homes for Howard was released, three of which were in the Parksville Qualicum Beach area.

The list included Treasures, Curios and RV Park, the Log Cabin General Store in Parksville, Fast Time Grand Prix in Parksville, White River Resort in Sayward and Galey Farms in Saanich — where Howard will be moved as soon as possible.

READ MORE: World’s largest gnome will get a new home on Vancouver Island

Norm Spann, owner of Fast Time Grand Prix in Parksville (1460 Springhill Rd.) said he’s also disappointed Howard isn’t staying local but has no hard feelings.

“I had a call from the family this morning, and understandably it would have been a tough decision where [Howard] should go,” Spann said. “It’s unfortunate that Howard’s going to be leaving the community but I did mention to the family if anything should change for them or any challenges arise let me know and I certainly would welcome having Howard here and I obviously think it would have been a great fit.”

There’s been a mixed bag of reaction on social media with some people showing support and excitement that Howard will be in Saanich and others saying they wish he’d be staying closer to home.

“Safe travels Howard. Would have been nice if he could’ve stayed a little closer to home,” said Michelle Armstrong on the PQB NEWS Facebook page.

“Good spot, just too bad he couldn’t stay local,” Chris Mclean wrote.

Matewish said she and her family ultimately decided on Galey Farms because they felt it had the most longevity and that her grandparents would think it was the best location for Howard.

Rob Galey confirmed the eight-metre-tall gnome that’s stood at a gas station along the Island Highway in Nanoose Bay since 1998 will join the Sphinx, pirate ship, Old West town, corn maze and train that draw thousands of visitors to Galey Farms on Blenkinsop Road each year. The farm also features the destination pumpkin patch, tractor-pulled hay ride, petting zoo and haunted house.

“Howard is the perfect fit for Galeys,” Galey said on Tuesday morning. “We can [maintain] him in house, we have David Gray, who’s a mastermind on staff with these kinds of structures.”

Galey wants to begin taking Howard apart this weekend and hopes to have him back up in time for the fall Pumpkinfest, peak season at Galey Farms. However, it will involve a proper breakdown to assess Howard before refitting him.

Most of the structures, the Sphinx, the Old West town and the pirate ship, were all purpose-built by Galey’s crew.

“A few pieces from the Old West town were acquired from set sales but we built the sphinx and pyramid from scratch, and the pirate-ship from scratch, and that was a big deal,” Galey said.

“We were blown away by the response and support for Howard,” Matewish said. “We’ve had people reach out from all across Canada and even a handful of the States.”

Galey’s functioning farm is equally famous in Victoria for its pumpkins and strawberries, and also produces a full variety of veggies and fruit on Blenkinsop as well as other sites around the region. It is approved for family destination zoning, known as agri-tourism.

Getting Howard home will be the first obstacle, Galey said.

“Howard’s been let go a bit. I understand he will travel in four pieces, the hat comes off, the head, the mid body and the lower body,” Galey said. “He will be in the shop all spring and summer getting fixed. He won’t be visible until the fall.”

Safety is priority one with an eight-metre-tall structure, he added.

“He has to be structurally sound enough to be put back together,” Galey said. “Whatever he needs, we’ll have to repair it and get it structurally approved. We might also coat him in fibreglass to make him even stronger.

Galey said one part of the deal is to keep Howard green.

“We also want to get his [right] arm waving because everything at the farm moves, walks, flies or talks,” Galey said.

For now, Galey has a few ideas where to put Howard but he’s unsure which is best. Certainly he’ll need to be accessible for photos and he won’t be by the road.

Most importantly Howard will stand along the train track, so that people of all mobility levels will have access to him.

karly.blats@pqbnews.com

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