Extra! Extra! Donkey Run Away From The Mines!

And Turned Into Bronze Forever.

In the City of Renton on the outskirts of downtown, there lies a secret. Or rather, there stands a secret. Actually, it is no longer a secret because at Kjell7 News we’d like to think we discovered this exclusive artifact just for you. The secret (no longer) that stands on the outskirts of downtown Renton is a donkey. Yes, a donkey.
Happy, true, mysterious.

When nonchalantly strolling on the outskirts of downtown Renton, one may find themself in Tonkin Park, a small yet quaint park. In the heart of this park hides a giant bronze statue of a donkey. A plaque below the statue reads “"Donkey Run Away From the Mines". The plaque credits the artist as R. Beyer and the date as 1984.

When Kjell7 News encountered this statue, we had some immediate questions and did some immediate research with our state-of-the-art proprietary research methods.

We found that the City of Renton was incorporated in 1901, and a big reason for the incorporation back then was coal mining. In fact, there are still, to this day, sealed entrances to coal mines in the Highlands and Benson areas of Renton.

So, in summary, Renton has a rich history in coal mining, and what better way could there be to proclaim this than a subtle statue of a donkey? Specifically, the Donkey that Run Away From the Mines. Kjell7 News cannot think of anything.

We can’t remember if Cinderella was a midnight thing like Gremlins was, but we’d like to think of this Donkey along those lines, a carriage turning into a pumpkin, a gizmo turning into a gremlin, or in this case, a donkey turning bronze. At Kjell7 News, it is our stance that he or she (I didn’t take a look at the donkey’s underside) likely was in a position to head back to the mines, however they likely decided to be a brave donkey, and stay out past the time when they very well knew they’d turn to bronze. Why? In the noble name of history. Would Kjell7 News have ever learned about Renton’s rich coal mining history if not for this discovery? Our bet is no.

Kjell7 News, reporting.