About the Fountain.  This was the 2nd edition of our Circle Fountain.  Yes, it did come down when the bus struck the old fountain in the fifties.  The old fountain had the bears (which look more like rats to me today), but they were so worn down by the time it was removed it was hard to tell what animal they were.

In fact, on reflection I had no idea they were bears until it was restored. Years of wear and tear from the water flow must have smoothed the edges.  I remember commenting on this at the gathering.  Joy Brown knew what I was talking about and agreed.

It seems as if there were only a few of us within that very large community gathering (300-400?) who where old enough to remember.  Mayor Shirley Dean had just been elected to her present position.  She graduated from Berkeley High too (10 years ahead of us).  I was no longer working in her office at the time of the event. There was a large community photo taken of everyone who turned out for the event.  All the community members circled around the Fountain. It was an overcast day, but spirits were high.  The neighbors from the adjoining areas walked from their homes to be a part of this memorable gathering.

Our community leaders gave speeches. Loud speakers and band music  made the event more festive to the delight of everyone in attendance. It was one of the finer moments in the Fifth District as it is now referred to.  Berkeley as you may know, is so political.  However, the majority of community members are the finest anywhere.  You all are living proof, no?

I made overtures to begin having The Fountain Gathering a yearly event, but it hasn't happened.  It would be nice to put the event in place.  In the last election I helped  in the campaign  of the current City Councilmember, Mim Hawley.  I'll contact her Aide Jill  and see about a revival.  This would be a great opportunity for all of us from Oxford to meet yearly from now on.

Everyone else in attendance (our neighbors near and far in Berkeley) seemed to be mostly made up of  newcomers to Berkeley since the mid sixties or later and had little memory of the old Fountain.  The revival and commitment to a new Fountain all began  to happen in the early 90's by the hard work of some neighbors in the immediate area surrounding the Circle.

I tried to find a picture or two of the Fountain gathering in '95 on Google but did not succeed.  I know there is much written on the subject. It's just a matter of spending time to gather the information.  There are old photos too from the nineteen twenties when the Fountain was erected. Mason McDuffie created the area as a lively place to move to around 1925.  Since Berkeley was to become the State Capitol of California, the Circle was duplicated to look like the circles surrounding the Capitol in Washington.

The State Capitol was to be located where the Northbrae Community Church is today.  All the streets leading down to The Alameda, where the Church was built were named for existing counties in California.  That's why your house street was named  Los Angeles.  You probably already knew these facts, but it's so interesting!

-Shireen
(in an e-mail to Mara, Jim, & Kent)