By Lloyd V. LaBombard
Some folks didn’t believe at the time that this was actually the “Original” lion drinking fountain at Dennis The Menace Park in Midland, TX.
Here are some of the pictures of its complete restoration from when I found it.
Looking back now I can tell you that the entire project was almost scrapped because of how badly damaged and weathered it was since its removal from the park in 1987.
However, a handful of us were able to raise over $10,000.00 for its complete restoration, not including the price of shipping.
After it was completed, on its way back to Midland, the Lion got lost in transit and was stuck in a warehouse in Chicago, IL for nearly 3 months until it was found again. It wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. However, I thought I’d share these pictures for the handful of folks that said it was just replaced with a new one. I drive by the park once and a while and I see children playing on it and loving it as much as we all did back in the day. I hope they will have the same memories and more that we had.
What a beautiful restoration job! I hope you get a successor to ensure continual care of it.
Agree strong that this should have perpetual care. Live on.