Here’s Isla, stumped by what that thing on the flagpole pedestal might be.
Six-year-old Isla Newton Azorr of Albany saw this metal bowl attached to the flagpole pedestal in front of the Linn County Courthouse. “What is this?” she wondered, as anyone would.
She asked her mother, her mother asked me and sent me the photo above. And I asked people in the courthouse who might know.
One who did was Steve Druckenmiller, who was elected county clerk in 1986 and served as elections supervisor for three years before that.
“Yes,” he replied, “it was a beautiful and working drinking fountain that I paused to use many times over the years.”
Today there is no water and no tap, and the bowl is filled with concrete.
Ralph Wyatt, the retired longtime county administrator, sent word that he thought the fountain may have been similar to Portland’s Benson “bubblers,” with water always flowing. He added, “It was probably shut down (before 1992) for health reasons or because the water supply pipe rusted out, or?”
Druckenmiller doesn’t remember when or why the drinking fountain was disabled, but he believes it provided an element of charm to the courthouse, just like the L.L. Swan Memorial Pool outside the door on the west side.
“The pool was used as a kind of wishing well and many, including this county clerk, shared coins with it in years gone by,” he told me by email. “Over the years I have heard varying reasons for the pool being closed down, from leakage to it being a liability hazard.”
He went on, “No doubt both of these small treasures could no longer exist now in a culture consumed by threats of lawsuits, viruses and the homeless. But I will forever consider myself blessed to have taken a drink of water from that fountain under our beautiful United States flag during a more civil time and watched as children on a hot day splashed in that small pool fetching out coins that, for a moment at least, made their dreams come true.”
According to her mother, Stephanie Newton, Isla thought that the bowl on the flag pedestal might have been a bird bath. Now that it’s full of concrete, it’s can’t be used even for that. (hh)
The former drinking fountain outside the courthouse on Wednesday, April 20, 2022.
Looks like the bowl might be made of bronze. It fairly invites to be restored.
The memorial pool outside the L.L. Swan addition, fondly remembered by the county clerk along with the drinking fountain out front, is empty except for rainwater.
Don’t let nostalgia muddy your thinking.
Humans stooping over a basin and slurping is very unsanitary.
I won’t even drink tap water unless it’s boiled first. Public tap water is poison with all those unneeded chemicals.
It’s a trust issue. And anything preceded by the word “public” gives me pause.
Boiling only kills biological pathogens. It doesn’t do squat to most chemicals. I guess you should just quit drinking water.
PS: Store bought water bottles are often filled from municipal water systems.
some chemicals can be broken down/changed by boiling but so yes for the most part that is correct. you can though collect the steam and cool it and make distilled water. although it’s still not completely pure water it’s better then tap water since some minerals can be carried in the steam and any other chemicals in the water with a lower boiling point of water will still remain.
Everything good is being destroyed, slowly, sometimes quietly, as the world marches backwards, instead of steadily improving and moving forward. Insanity reigns. Nothing surprises me anymore.
They should take the concrete out and use it for a bird bath.
At least they got rid of the ladle.
I would surmise it was shut down during one of the alleged droughts in the 80’s. Apparently the logic by the officials was if you used water, it disappeared forever. City didn’t want us watering our lawns etc. Of course they didn’t offer to charge us less.
If you used less water, they did charge you less than if you had used more.
Not in all cases. Low income seniors pay the same for 0-4 units of water. 5th unit on gets charged additional.
ya, people have this messed up thinking that water disappears for ever. I filter all my water from the tap used for consumption. did you know that it’s illegal in the city of Albany and most Cities across the country to collect rain water for potable use?
Let the water flow – nothing more beautiful, listening, seeing these features.
Have been drinking with abandon from fountains and taps, many of the latter being faucets attached to garden hoses, for nearly six decades and so far have lived to tell about it.
Some of us even rode around in the back of pickups, jumped ramps on our bikes with no helmet. Oh the dangers today’s kids miss out on.