LONGVIEW, Texas (KLTV) - The sculpture 'Night Winds' was a hot-button topic for Longview in the 1980s, sparking protests, fistfights and even resignations."I remember as a kid, us driving by to go see 'The thing,' it was a thing," Geff Grimes, Longview Arboretum Art Chairman said.

This nearly 17-foot-tall, three-ton steel sculpture spent over a decade in a dump truck simply because some people thought it was ugly."To me," Grimes said, "that's the beautiful thing about art, is that it strikes people different ways."In 1981, Kilgore College's Longview campus commissioned sculptor John Daniel to add an artistic presence."From my understanding, he took inspiration from the moon and clouds and some trees and Night Winds was born," Grimes said.

For five years, it stood while facing public backlash."The squeaky wheel gets the grease and there was enough squeaky from how unattractive some people found it that Kilgore College ultimately decided: We no longer want any part of this controversy and so they had it cut down in the middle of the night," Grimes said.