Golfers from across the area teed it up this past Saturday to raise money to restore the Baker Fireman’s Fountain in Owego. It was the first of what the Owego Hose Team hopes will be an annual charity golf tournament to raise money to restore the Baker Fireman’s Fountain in the village’s Courthouse Square. Golfers from 65 teams with 260 people played the course at Tioga Golf Club on Saturday to support the nonprofit project. The cost for the restoration is estimated at $60,000. Repairs include cement and concrete replacement, repainting, plumbing, pump work and updated landscaping. The hose team recently received a $20,000 grant from the Mildred Faulkner Truman Foundation and $5,000 from the Fannie C. Hyde Charitable Trust for the project. All profits from the weekend golf tournament will support the project. The fountain was given to the village and its firefighters in 1914 by Frank M. Baker as a memorial to his son, George Hobart Baker, who was killed in an automobile accident. Both men were members and chief engineers of the Owego Fire Department. The fountain was last restored in 2000.
