GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Michigan Veteran Homes at Grand Rapids, a veterans organization, rededicated a historical fountain Saturday, more than a century after it first arrived in the state.
“So now, 130 years after she first came to the Michigan soldier’s home, we’re gathered here to welcome her back from the equivalent of her spa vacation,” Chaplain Bruce Kalish said during his speech Saturday.
Donald James, who lives at the home, remembers the Hebe Fountain from back when he was just a little kid.
“Now here it is, you know, I never, never visualized I’d be here seeing it, you know, 40 years later, and also, it’s been a long time,” James said. “I remember when I was a kid, I lived over here on Dean Street. I used to ride my bike to here and I remember seeing the fountain all the time.”
When James came to leave at Michigan Veteran Homes in 2019, the fountain was gone.
“The fountain had become corroded and was no longer flowing water, and the veterans truly missed it,” Michigan Veteran Homes Community Engagement Coordinator Tiffany Carr explained.
The member council made the decision to bring back the fountain in 2020 and rededicate it to our veterans.
Veteran organizations, private businesses and even veterans themselves helped raise more than $100,000 to make it happen.
“The iron itself, the ability, the water flow, what you see today, was all dedicated by the community,” Carr added.
So, the fountain was rededicated Saturday for the third time.
“The first two rededications were 1972 and 1987. After a decade of not functioning, she barely escaped the wrecking ball that leveled the old main building, which had stood here since 1886,” Chaplain Kalish said. “In 1987, the fountain was again restored.”
Now, this 21st century restoration is a welcome sight for our local veterans.
“I think truly when you see our veterans sitting around it on a July day with a cool breeze blowing on their face, that therapeutic flow of the water, it just truly is a gift back to them,” Carr said.
“I think it’s a miracle that they recast it and, you know, got the thing in and a lot of people are involved in it. Looks good,” James added.
Michigan Veteran Homes is a skilled nursing home serving those who served our country.
There are three locations throughout Michigan, with Grand Rapids being the oldest.
