‘Iron Mike’ is whetting whistles again in Oregon

OREGON – Attention thirsty walkers – Iron Mike is back in service.

Oregon’s iconic Iron Mike water fountain is up and running again thanks to two local men and two Oregon businesses that came to the aid of the historic downtown fixture once again.

The 1901 free-flowing fountain was re-dedicated in 2021 after a 2-year restoration and relocation project, led by Mike Bowers of Oregon. But when Iron Mike was turned on this year, it was discovered he had a few broken parts that required repair.

Bowers, Oregon’s former superintendent of streets, and Scott Wallace of the city’s department of public works stepped in and were able to switch the fountain back on this week.

“I would like to thank Art Casting of Illinois for casting the replacement parts and Dale Beesing [Beesing Welding] for final machining to make this possible,” Bowers said. “The new parts will be polished this fall.”

In 2019, city and Ogle County officials decided to move the fountain away from the intersection of state routes 64 and 2 to the northeast corner of the Ogle County Courthouse Square after a wayward car almost hit it.

The fountain was cleaned, sandblasted and repainted by E.D. Etnyre Co., at its Oregon facility and then stored at the street department over the winter as COVID-19 delayed the project.

“The Illinois Humane Society provided the Iron Mike water fountain to the city of Oregon in June of 1901, 120 years ago,” Bowers said in 2021.

Iron Mike has three drinking levels, one for dogs, one for horses and one for people, and was endorsed by the Illinois Humane Society when it was forged.

The Humane Society provided water fountains to offer fresh drinking water to the horses pulling carriages in Chicago and Milwaukee.

“They felt that the horses were being mistreated so they wanted fresh water for the horses but then it turned to cats, dogs and children,” Bowers said. “The Women’s Christian Temperance Union also felt that if fresh water was available, it would deter people from going to the taverns. I don’t know how successful that was.”

There were cups on little posts near the top of the barrel of the fountain, but it was later discovered that sharing cups was responsible for spreading sickness and disease so they were removed, he said.

In 2021, Bowers thanked numerous individuals, businesses, and city and county officials for helping with the restoration and relocation project and working together to complete the task.

“This relocation project was quite involved,” he said. “We had a lot of people step up to the plate.”

This wasn’t the first scrape in Iron Mike’s long residence in the city. In 2010 his top decorative cap was stolen. It eventually was replicated by the Nennah Foundry Co., modeled after the top of a similar fountain in front of the Flagg Township Museum in Rochelle. That fountain is turned on only when the museum is open.

Local workers helped create the new area for the fountain, which included two memorial benches and repurposed bricks from an Oregon street.

One of the benches behind Iron Mike is inscribed: “In Loving Memory of Charles H. and Hazel I Ehmen” – Sandy Greenfield’s mom and dad.

“When we asked my dad what he wanted as a memorial, he said he wanted something ‘right behind Iron Mike, because that’s where I met your mom’, " Greenfield said at the 2021 re-dedication.

“Iron Mike is very special to us, and it is very special to everyone who grew up in Oregon.”