Look Back ... to a geyser at Quintard Mall, 1999

May 20, 1949, in The Star: The Veterans of Foreign Wars observance of its 50th anniversary this year gives added significance to the annual sale of VFW “buddy poppies” to be held here tomorrow, said Cmdr. Tipton of Post 924. The handmade poppies are the creation of veterans confined to government hospitals. The proceeds from the sale are used entirely for veterans’ welfare. Around two-thirds of the funds will remain in Anniston to aid needful veterans and their dependents. Also this date: R. C. Moyer, manager of the Linen Thread Company plant at Blue Mountain, spoke on the progress and condition of the local cotton and textile industry in a speech delivered to Anniston Kiwanis Club members yesterday. The company he works for was established in 1897, Moyer said. He mentioned that Calhoun County is home to 22 textile plants, and that one out of every four skilled workers in Alabama are in the textile industry.

May 20, 1999, in The Star: A 75-foot geyser sprang from Quintard Mall property yesterday, but it wasn’t a new fountain at the mall’s current addition. Instead, the sudden spring resulted from a construction accident that shattered a joint of a 20-inch water main. Several hundred thousand gallons of water were lost from the break, interrupting water service for most of Golden Springs for about an hour after the 11:30 a.m. accident, according to Jim Miller of Anniston Water Works. The pipe, second-largest in diameter of the type used around here, normally contains a pressure of about 100 pounds per square inch — so the volume lost into Snow Creek was considerable before the situation was controlled and repairs began.