Trash or Treasure: Just What the Heck Is This?

By Patch Associate Regional Editor Sherri Lonon

When Patch.com employees hit the street July 23 to clean up a leg of Hillsborough Avenue and a stretch of George Road in Town ‘N Country, we expected to find beer bottles, furniture, an occasional toothbrush and maybe even a tire or four.

What we didn’t expect to come across was a strange little statue (check out the pictures) that we just can’t explain.

Patch Editor Jared Leone made the find along George Road. It features a human-like face, surrounded by work implements such as an anvil, rake, shovel and sawzall blade.

Jared, who’s a pretty handy guy, has also identified a hoe and a clevis hanger, which is usually used to pin and hang piping in ceilings. He speculates that the statue represents a pipe fitter or maybe even a steel worker.

The strange little statue has become quite a topic of speculation. We’ve had some readers say it’s part of a spell; a Santeria statue, perhaps. A few people have warned that it’s “bad juju.”

Jared just thinks it’s a really cool piece that honors a working man.

Do you have any thoughts on what it might be? Tell us by commenting below!