Oh demon alcohol, Sad memories I cannot recall, Who thought I would say, Damn it all and blow it all, Oh demon alcohol (The Kinks) Not only was Henry Daniel Cogswell a millionaire dentist, but he was a crusading teetotaler who thought that building public drinking fountains all over town would help curb the public from the evil temptations of demon alcohol. In 1883, Cogswell donated this fountain to the town of Vernon. Of course, it was topped with a statue of himself. In one hand he held a glass of water, and in the other he held the Temperance Pledge. Seemed that Cogswell was pretty serious about the evils of alcohol. Turns out there were over 30 bars in Vernon at the time, and those that supported them didn’t exactly see eye to eye with Cogswell. So it was no surprise when in the middle of the night, someone took down Cogswell’s statue, liberated it from its pedestal, and heaved it into Shenipsit Lake. The local constable fished it out of the lake and set it up again, only to see it disappear once more! It was missing until 1908, when it mysteriously appeared propped up against a downtown building. It was put into storage and melted down into scrap during World War II. The fountain had a stone urn in place instead of the statue for years. In 2005, a replica statue was dedicated and it was returned to its rightful spot atop the fountain for a few years. Recently, it was removed, and again replaced with an urn. The replacement statue is being repaired for rust damage, some cracks, and a missing right hand. Cogswell’s message still appears to be meeting resistance over 100 years after it was first broadcast. All I can say is «I’ll drink to that»!
