Based on this premise the one stipulation for the gift was the Humane Alliance chose the site to place the fountain, and in 1910 Lewis Sevier came to Grand Junction and walked the city with Mayor Todd to determine the best location. The center of the intersection of Fifth and Rood next to the new YMCA was chosen as the YMCA stood for the betterment of young men and women.

The fountain weighed five tons and stood seven feet tall with a massive six-foot bowl hewn from one piece of granite. It stood on a square pier and small basins around the base captured water provided for dogs. It was also wired for a globe street light placed upon the top. Three sides had brass lion heads that spouted water, and on the north side of the fountain was a plaque dedicated to the founder of the fountains, Hermon Lee Ensign. The only cost to the city would be the shipping cost from the granite quarries where the fountains were made on a small island off the coast of Maine named Vinalhaven.

The Humane Alliance shipped the fountain in November of 1910. On Jan. 14, 1911, the Daily Sentinel reported the fountain was on it way from Maine, and it arrived on Jan. 25. It came in two sections and was so heavy that when City Commissioner Scovill was hauling it up from the freight yards, it proved too much for his wagon, breaking the coupling pole and dropping the huge fountain in the mud of Sixth and Main. As soon as the weather settled down, the concrete foundation was laid and the fountain was unpacked and installed with the metal plaque on the north side of the fountain stating, “1908 Presented by the National Humane Alliance. Hermon Lee Ensign, Founder.”

On March 28 the program for the formal dedication ceremony was placed in both the Grand Junction News and the Daily Sentinel, stating Mrs. Elizabeth Walker Hinton on behalf of Emma Keene Sullivan would give the history of the fountain with Mayor Todd accepting the fountain for the city.

Emma was not able to attend as she and her husband, Judge Sullivan, went on an extended trip after the marriage of their daughter, Elsie on Dec. 1, 1910.

On March 29, the intersection of Fifth and Rood was filled with men, women and children to witness the dedication. There was a prayer by Rev. S. B. Warner, the Colorado Glee Club sang “By the light of the Silvery Moon” and “America.” I.N. Bunting of the Daily Sentinel referred “feelingly” that the presence of this beautiful fountain is due to the insistence, courage, and untiring energy of Mrs. Emma Keene Sullivan, further stating that she overcame obstacles to have the fountain brought to Grand Junction.

Mrs. Elizabeth Hinton spoke on behalf of Emma and presented the animal fountain to the city. She stated the fountain was conceived in love. It was love that prompted Hermon Lee Ensign to leave his estate to the fund which builds and donates these monuments for his love for dogs and horses, and it was love which upheld Mrs. Sullivan in her endeavor to secure the fountain for this city.

Mayor Thomas Todd formally accepted the gift in the spirit of gratitude and trust, stating that is was a rare occasion for the city to get something for nothing, and it was his hope the fountain would stand as a thing of beauty and joy forever. The mayor then called upon City Water Commissioner Bostwick W. Vedder to turn on the water to the fountain and the program was completed.

So now the horses and dogs of Grand Junction had their own public fountain, and there was even a cup for humans who wished to get water from the flowing lion’s heads. The water fountain stayed at the intersection of Fifth and Rood for many years. After a time, as automobiles became the main mode of transportation, the fountain was removed.

We know by records that Judge Walter S. Sullivan died in 1915, his wife Emma followed her daughter — Elsie McKinnie — to California, where Elsie died in 1935 and Emma died in 1937. Emma’s remains were bought back to Grand Junction and buried next to her husband and baby boy, Philip, in the Orchard Mesa Cemetery.

Now, for the rest of the story.

There were about 125 fountains placed in the United States from the years 1906 to 1921 when the National Humane Alliance closed its doors. There is a list online at http://www.electronicvalley.org/derby/greenway/fountains/NHAFountains.htm. In researching this story I discovered that Grand Junction was not mentioned as a city receiving a fountain. Upon contacting the website and sending photos from the Museum of Western Colorado, Grand Junction is now listed along with the other Colorado cities of Denver and Colorado Springs. The Denver fountain is still located in a small paved triangle in the Civic Center District, where Colfax, Tremont, and 13th intersect.

The Grand Junction fountain is documented by photos from the Museum of Western Colorado from 1911 to about 1923. By the time the tennis courts on the southwest corner of Fifth and Rood (current location of Snap Photo) are replaced with a gas station, the fountain has been removed. Only a manhole cover marks the spot.

As of the writing of this story I have not been able to find where the fountain went. It’s hard to lose something that big, so if anyone out there has scrapbooks or old stories from your grandparents who might have mentioned the day a five-ton, $125,000 water fountain got up and moved away from Grand Junction, please contact me at my e-mail listed below.

It would be nice when we find it, if it were again placed somewhere for the enjoyment of children, adults and animals. And then if we spy a white cloud in the shape of a smile in the blue Colorado sky we might assume it’s Emma Keene Sullivan’s spirit shining down and saying well done.

Photos: Museum of Western Colorado, Loyd Files Room, Michael Menard: David Bailey Peter Booth; Bill Chilles, Vinalhaven Historical Society; Jack WalshDerby, CT: Grand Junction News: The Daily Sentinel files: Mesa County Library Obit Files: Snap Photo: City of Grand Junction Cemetery Information, Vicki Beltran: Lavada Palmer of the Mesa County Assessor’s Office: Richard Tope History of Mesa County: Mesa County Library Staff: Pat Gromley: Special Thanks to Marie Tipping who helped me look through four days of newspaper books from 1908-1912. This was a HUGE Job.

Garry Brewer is storyteller of the tribe; finder of odd knowledge and uninteresting items; a bore to his grandchildren; a pain to his wife on spelling; but a locator of golden nuggets, truths and pearls of wisdom. Email Garry at brewer62@bresnan.net.

And now read this story about what eventually happened to the fountain and why it might no longer be considered a National Humane Alliance Fountain.

THE STORY OF COACH SCHWALM’SMEMORIAL

This story and picture from May 3, 2017 was published on https://kekbfm.com/forgotten-grand-junction-memorial/.

This little-known memorial for Grand Junction's Coach Schwalm has a unique story you just have to know.

In all my visits to Stocker Stadium, I swear I had never noticed this structure before. It is located past the south end of the football field, on the far side of the running track toward the barn.

I couldn't seem to find a date of presentation or any indication of when this memorial was placed there. All I know is basically what it says on the plaque:

“In memory of Elmer A. Schwalm

Grand Junction Junior College Athletic Coach and Instructor who died Mar 13, 1934”

After I did a little searching I found the story of what tragically happened to Elmer and how that memorial came to be.

The memorial was originally a piece of a five ton, seven-foot tall fountain with a brass lion's head and a stoplight on top of it. From 1911 to 1923 it was located at 5th Street and Rood Avenue. It was eventually moved because of road paving, finding a new home at Washington Park.

That is until 1934. After Elmer died in a horrific car accident, Tom Gardner got a hold of the old fountain, removed the toplight and lion's head and turned it into a public drinking fountain in Coach Schwalm's name.

The school - Mesa Junior College (Colorado Mesa University)  -decided to unveil the memorial fountain during a football game on November 13, 1934.

So, believe it or not, that structure has been there for more than 82 years. Dedicated to a coach who "never wanted to leave the field of play."