Late 60's Sears Fountain

[scoots]

Back in the late 60's-early 70's, Sears had a fountain with an interesting feature: a spray head that continuously changed shape and color. I remember being fascinated by the ad, but it never went any farther. I never got a chance to see one in person since they did not have one on display at the local Sears store (Del Amo, Torrance CA) and at $100, there was no way I was even going to HINT that we buy one.

Does anybody remember this fountain? Was it "all that" or was it oversold and the effect not as striking as the ad suggests? I recall Sears discontinued it after about 3-4 years.

 

[warmsecondrinse]

I have vague mempories of fountains being in vogue, along with fish ponds (with fountains), organic gardening, the Ecology Movement (remember the flag?), how to be semi-sustainable with a suburban yard. I remember seeing a lot of plans (magazines, gardening centers, nurseries, etc. for how to build a fountain in your yard... all lit up, of course.

The oil embargo of '73 killed all that, of course, once it became clear that the oil embargo was not a one-off event. The focus was on the 'energy crisis' and 'saving energy'.

Jim

 

[tomturbomatic]

I do not remember this fountain, but at the Charles H. Morse Museum of American Art in Winter Park, FL, you can see pictures of the fountain Louis Comfort Tiffany designed for his Long Island mansion and it had lights that changed colors in the water as the organ was played.

The fountains that I do remember from the 60s were featured in small ads in the back of shelter magazines and consisted of 3 shallow plastic bowls at different heights and angles supported by tubular steel frames. The bowls had wide spillways and were available in colors like white, turquoise and, possibly, black. I often saw them in motel lobbies in Florida with plants surrounding them. They made a strong impression of a boy who loved plants, aquariums and almost anything having to do with water.

 

[whirlcool]

If you have bird feeders in your yard...

A fountain will attract a lot of different birds. They seem to like the sound of falling or dripping water.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Birds

Oh yeah. I had a fountain on my deck for a brief time. It attracted birds all right. They came for the water and sat on every surface and pooped on everything. After that a Tom-created drought set in and they had to go elsewhere for water. You try to do something nice for the birds and they are just like some people who shit all over you. Speaking of that, I got rid of the maple by my driveway. I did it before the leaves appeared so no birds had built nests yet. Trees take maintenance and, sometimes, outright removal. No more bird or tree droppings on my car! No wet leaves in the fall, no flowers , no seed pods, nothing! YAY!

 

[whirlcool]

Try planting a Mulberry tree if you want a mess. Most people who plant those later learn to regret it. They drop crap down all year long. Fortunately we learned as kids to avoid those things.

 

[cuffs054]

Whirlcool speaks the truth! When I built my garage 12 years ago they cut to the ground a Mulberry that was in the way. Most to my dismay it has grown back with such vigor it is now bigger than ever. My concrete drive stays a not so lovely shade of purple most of the year thanks to the eaten and uneaten berries.

 

[tomturbomatic]

When this neighborhood was newly built in the 50s, there were lots of mulberry trees and the poor housewives had to deal with the staining on the soles of the kids' shoes made terrible messes in the houses. Lots of those trees were taken down. Now that trunks can be ground out, it is fairly easy, if not inexpensive, to keep trees you take down from coming back.

 

[petek]

Mom had a giant Mulberry in her back yard. What a mess and after a week or two of  hot weather it could sometimes smell like a distillery. They sprout up like weeds in amongst the hedges and cedars