History Mystery

We received testimony, and physical proof, the past week that the mermaid fountain at Garfield School in Cloquet has been around at least since the 1950s. It was a goldfish pond at the bottom.

Sandy Strand provided this delightful picture of her first-grade class in October of 1950. There's the fountain in the back at far right, in Miss Campbell's classroom. Sandy, who is in the all-white dress under the "Happy Helpers" sign, behind the boy in the plaid shirt, clearly remembers the day the girl nearest the fountain once fell into it.

Steve Brown of Minneapolis recalls the fountain in his kindergarten room with teacher Miss Visanko in the late 1950s. He also said it had a few goldfish in it. The mermaid is in the same spot today, but it's likely grades changed for the room that is the school board chambers today.

Anya Bottila, the volunteer coordinator at the Carlton County Historical Society, found a document on places of interest regarding the 1918 fire. Garfield is a rare surviving building and Jody Acers wrote in 1993: "Inside the older part of the school is a blue and white tiled wall and fountain depicting a fish and mermaid scene. Reportedly, it once was a fish tank in one of the old classrooms."