Photo of the Week, 23: World War II Drinking Fountain Flows Once More!

On October 19, 1948, the local Pearl Harbor chapter of the American War Mothers dedicated a drinking fountain to McLean County's World War II dead. The fountain is located on the east / Main Street side of the McLean County Museum of History (formerly the McLean County Courthouse).

For many years (no one's quite sure how long), this memorial fountain was turned off and in disrepair. Fortunately, just recently it was put back into working order thanks to the volunteer services of Tom Laskowski and Mike Hardwick of Corn Belt Plumbing.

That's U.S. Army Sgt. Sammy Ferrara standing by the fountain during the 1948 unveiling ceremony. A World War II and Korean War veteran, Ferrara passed away in 2007, and is buried at Park Hill Cemetery in Bloomington.

Also of interest in this photograph is the long-gone circa 1900 public water fountain (seen in the foreground).