stone fountain

       Efforts are under way to revitalize the 126-year-old fountain on Gardiner Common, the latest in a series of changes to a memorial dedicated to a local son, a Civil War surgeon and physician-healer of former Union slaves and soldiers.
        The fountain is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Gideon Palmer, a gift to the city by his wife Susan. In its original form, it was a statue of Neptune and was unveiled with great fanfare in 1896.
        “The fountain was the center of a huge event that summer,” according to a fountain history handed out to Gardner Avenue and the Gardner Rotary Clubs. “From the dedication, the fountain statues for all ages are casts of Neptune.”
        But less than 50 years later, during World War II, the country needed scrap metal as part of the war effort. Neptune melted.
       Instead, the city erected a pile of stones that the locals have dubbed “Stone Volcano,” said Robert Abbey, a volunteer who worked to restore the fountain.
        Then, in 1977, a group called The Friends of the Fountain raised funds to commission Norman Therrien to build a statue called The Lady with the Bird. It was replaced with a stone mount, but after many years the fountain itself is in dire need of repair.
        “In 2015, there was green water, mud and branches everywhere,” Abby said. “It was a mess. I said, “Let’s clean it up and see if it works.”
        Since then, they’ve worked to launch it every summer with the help of a handful of volunteers and city public works workers. This summer they have been focusing on fundraising, hoping to get needed donations from foundations, private grants and the public who want to see the famous fountain at the end of the community come to life.
        The fountain is in need of a major overhaul estimated at $200,000. A sign at the other end of the city park invites those passing by to make a donation.
        According to Abby, when he and other volunteers first started working on Palmer, they thought he would look like the Civil War veterans honored in many cities. But when they dug deeper, they discovered a charming Gardiner native who served as a team surgeon in the war after 20 years as a country doctor in Kennebec County.
        According to Abby, when he served as a Union soldier as a surgeon, Palmer probably “saw the horrors of war up close”. After the war, he returned to Gardner and served in the Maine Legislature. But when Civil War General O. O. Howard asked him to attend Howard University in Washington, D.C., he did not return to Maine.
        Abby said he was the director of the Friedman Hospital, which provided medical care to former slaves, Union soldiers, and the poor. He also trained African-American doctors, advocating for them when the American Medical Association said it did not want to accept them.
        Melissa Lindley, Chief Executive of Gardiner Main Street, said the fountain’s restoration work has become more important in recent times. This is because the Common is designated as a historical landmark.
        “I think if you’re not a resident, The Common is a hidden gem,” she said. “The more attractors we can offer Gardner, the better.”
       Abby says Maine doesn’t have a lot of public fountains, but they’ve looked at recent work done on a fountain in Portland’s Lincoln Park for ideas on how to pay tribute to Palmer.
        “When he works, he is absolutely beautiful,” Abbey said. “It flies up, then falls, oscillates, forms a whirlwind and moves.”