The Laker/Lutz News

Abraham Lincoln

Wesley Chapel’s Union Park community celebrates Juneteenth

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The second annual Juneteenth Family Day Celebration in Wesley Chapel’s Union Park community brought on added significance.

Just days prior to the weekend event, the U.S. Senate passed legislation declaring June 19 a federal holiday, and then President Joe Biden signed it into law.

The groundbreaking development brought extra spark to all involved, event organizer Melissa Akers-Atkins acknowledged.

Tamika Diaz, of Wesley Chapel, leads children in an uplifting and inspirational dance during the Juneteenth Celebration at Union Park. (Fred Bellet)

“We were very excited,” Akers-Atkins recently told The Laker/Lutz News. “It happened Thursday, so we were excited that Saturday we were able to announce that and celebrate it again, even more. It was just a little different you know.”

The event was held to commemorate the day – June 19, 1865 – when the last enslaved Blacks, in Galveston, Texas, learned that the Emancipation Proclamation had freed them. Juneteenth is also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day.

The June 19 celebration at Union Park was coordinated by a handful of neighborhood residents, led by Akers-Atkins. Other members of the planning committee included Tamika Diaz, Alexandra Archibald, Mesha Pierre, Talana Brown, Antoine Williams and Michaela Steward.

Songs, dance, music, food, prayer, prizes and fellowship filled a day of activities from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., at the Union Park clubhouse on Bering Road.

Faraasha Bell Fonoti, 14, and NeVaeh Akers-Atkins, 13, both of Wesley Chapel, receive a round of applause that left them delighted after performing a step dance, which requires the shoes on the pavement to be the percussion aspects of the dance. Derived from African and slave dances, stepping or step dance is energetic and expressive.

The festival drew over 100 attendees and also had several Black-owned vendors and other organizations on hand. This included multiple young entrepreneurs like 14-year-old Jordan Parramore, the owner/operator of Jordan’s Juice Bar, selling juice pops and coco bombs.

The event began with an opening prayer from Carmel Friendship Church pastor Quincy Stratford, then a discussion on the meaning of Juneteenth led by co-organizer Tamika Diaz.

Neil Archibald, a Wesley Chapel-based attorney, delivered a reflection speech called “Affirmations to Live By,” about what it’s like to be an African American male in society today. He also encouraged young people to pursue their dreams and never give up on lifelong goals.

Multiple poems were presented throughout the event, too.

Aiyana Gabrielle Williams, 15, delivered “Never Give In” by Greg Thung. Deidre Kelsey-Holley read an original poem, titled “Chosen.”

The family friendly event also included all sorts of activities for kids, including volleyball, football, Connect 4, Jenga, corn hole, checkers, hula hoop and bounce house.

The recent deaths of Black individuals by police officers, including George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter movement and street protests brought greater attention to Juneteenth celebrations over the past couple years.

Neil Archibald and his sons Nicholas, 6, left, and Noah, 7, watch a step dance performance on the Union Park sidewalk. It was all part of the entertainment at the Juneteenth Celebration.

The background and history of Juneteenth is enlightening.

President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, freeing slaves living in the Confederate states.

But, the news in those days traveled slowly, or in some instances, wasn’t acknowledged by slave owners.

On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers came ashore at Galveston, Texas, and announced the end of the Civil War and the end of slavery. The date was 2 ½ years after Lincoln’s proclamation.

A few months later, on Dec. 6, 1865, the 13th amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolished slavery everywhere. The following year, Juneteenth celebrations, often hosted by African American churches, took root.

Raising awareness of the importance of Juneteenth was among Union Park event organizers goals.

But, they also want to foster unity, a sense of safety, and civic participation through voting.

Uplifting and providing outreach to area youth likewise was imperative during the Juneteenth celebration, Akers-Atkins said.

Several kids were incorporated into the celebration, including a step dance performance from Wesley Chapel teenagers Faraasha Bell Fonoto and NaVeah Akers-Atkins.

Trevor Roberts, 40, of Wesley Chapel, said he really only learned about Juneteenth eight years ago, while living in Oakland, California. He is happy the day is now well-known and the history behind the day will now be widely taught to children in school.

Derived from African and slave dances, stepping is energetic and expressive, and requires the shoes on the pavement to be the percussion aspects of the dance.

Meanwhile, the celebration’s youngest performer was five-year-old Joilene Jones, who delivered a gymnastics routine for all to see.

“I think as the youth see the community within which they live care about their education, whether they’re in school or out of school, we care enough about them, and we’d like to still encourage them in that and let them see that you don’t just have to learn what they teach you in school,” Akers-Atkins explained.

“Your neighbors, your community, the people around you, we’re all here to help build you up and mold you into this well-rounded individual, seeing and doing and modeling for them, and also including them in these activities and including them in the planning, so I think it’s very important that we do that, and that we continue to push them.

“We hope there’s more kids next year that aren’t afraid to step out of their comfort zone and they’re able to share their artistic talents with their community,” Akers-Atkins said.

Melissa and fellow organizers plan to host a Juneteenth celebration each year at Union Park, with grander visions to someday collaborate on a countywide event incorporating several other neighboring communities — a get-together that could be held at Wesley Chapel District Park.

Meanwhile, they also plan to host other cultural events through the year at Union Park, including celebrations for Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15.

Published June 30, 2021

Columnist helps to keep Pasco’s history alive

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The name Doug Sanders will ring a bell with regular readers of The Laker/Lutz News.

Especially those who enjoy history.

Sanders dropped by the newspaper’s office a little over five years ago, offering to help us tell the story of the region’s history.

It was an offer we couldn’t refuse.

Doug Sanders has a penchant for history. He enjoys tracking down leads and sharing what he finds out, with others. He is shown here, after giving a talk at a Pasco County Historical Society meeting in February. (B.C. Manion)

Since then, Sanders’ columns have unearthed interesting facts about community landmarks, forgotten places, and people who have played a pivotal role in shaping the area’s history.

His columns resonate with people who are deeply rooted here, and with newcomers, too, who want to know more about the place where they now live.

And, we’re lucky enough to continue sharing Sanders’ work.

Sanders said his interest in history began in 1963, as part of a class visit to the home of Wilbur Wright, co-inventor of the airplane.

That visit to the farmhouse and museum near Millville, Indiana, left an indelible impression.

“It was just amazing to me: Here’s a man in history that changed the world, and he came from some humble beginnings. The homestead went back to 1865,” Sanders said.

“It’s something that filled my imagination that day,” he said.

It also sparked his interest in pursuing stories and preserving history.

When he arrived in Florida, in the early 1980s, he became enamored with learning more about Pasco County’s past. Over the years, he’s formed friendships and received help from other local historians, including Jeff Miller, Keith Bailey, Ted Johnson, Scott Black, Bill Dayton and Madonna Wise.

He’s done quite a bit of research over the years and has shared some of what he’s learned through periodic columns.

One of his favorites focused on a document possessed by Martha M. Fountain, of Zephyrhills.

The document, originally bestowed to Samuel Warren Fountain, was signed on Dec. 15, 1864. It bears the signature of President Abraham Lincoln, and has been passed down through generations of Fountain’s family.

President Abraham Lincoln’s signature, dated Dec. 15, 1864, remains legible.
It turns out the signature on the 156-year-old document was an engraved version of President Lincoln’s signature. (Courtesy of Doug Sanders)

Sanders wanted to know if it really was Lincoln’s signature on the document.

So, he set off to find out.

It took him two years, and ultimately a trip to Springfield, Illinois, where he discovered the document, now 156 years old, was marked with an engraving of Lincoln’s original signature.

While the signature wasn’t directly applied by Lincoln’s hand, Sanders still felt a sense of satisfaction, from tracking down the facts.

There were a couple other bonuses, too, he said.

For one thing, he made a new friend: Norm Schmidt. Schmidt, who lives in Akron, Ohio, had read Sanders’ column about the document, after receiving a copy of the column from Donna Swart, a former mayor of San Antonio.

Schmidt offered to take Sanders to Springfield, Illinois, where the men found out that the signature was an engraving of Lincoln’s signature.

The men also traveled to Lincoln College, where, as it turns out, the document is now housed, as part of the exhibits at Lincoln Heritage Museum.

Sanders also enjoyed the challenge of trying to determine whether President Calvin Coolidge ever stayed in Dade City, as local legend claimed for decades.

His painstaking research yielded a detailed timeline that Sanders believes makes it impossible for the local legend to be true.

Still, if someone can produce hard evidence of a Coolidge visit, Sanders would love to see it.

Other satisfying columns featured James Emmett Evans and William M. Larkin, Sanders said.

Evans was known as the citrus king and was a pivotal figure in the development of frozen juice concentrate. Larkin was a cattleman and lawyer, a member of the Pasco County School Board and chairman of the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

Edward Bok and his wife, Mary Louise, are shown here with President Calvin Coolidge and his wife, Grace, on Feb. 1, 1929, the day that Coolidge spoke at the dedication ceremony at Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales. (Courtesy of Bok Tower Gardens)

Sanders’ columns often bring little-known facts to light.

One column featured the acting career of Roy Barnes Jones, a character actor who was born in Dade City.

Jones used the stage name Roy Roberts, and at the height of his career, his face was familiar to millions. He played recurring roles in such popular programs as “McHale’s Navy,” “Bewitched” and the “Dick Van Dyke Show.”

But, Sanders doesn’t just write about people. He also writes about the region’s places and events.

He called attention to the historic Cow Palace in Dade City, a venue that attracted some of the  biggest names in soul-blues and R&B music, including B.B. King.

The Cow Palace was part of what is known as the “Chitlin’ Circuit,” defined by National Public Radio as “a touring circuit that provided employment for hundreds of black musicians and brought about the birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll.”

He also told the story of the Historic Pasco County Courthouse, an iconic building in downtown Dade City, that’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Readers of that column would learn the building, located at Seventh Street and Meridian Avenue, was erected in 1909. They also would find out that despite its impressive neoclassical dome and clock tower, the structure’s design was not exactly unique.

The architect — Edward Columbus (E.C.) Hosford — used a similar design for three courthouses in Georgia and two in Texas.

In other columns, Sanders has written about challenging times the region has weathered.

He wrote about the hurricane of 1921, which made landfall with sustained winds of 115 mph near Tarpon Springs, on Oct. 25, 1921. At the time, it was considered the most destructive storm to hit Florida since 1848.

Wilbur Wright was born here in Millville, Indiana, on April 16, 1867. His parents bought this home, along with 5 acres for $700. (Courtesy of Doug Sanders)

The hurricane caused considerable damage throughout the region.

The Sunnybrook Tobacco Company, in Dade City, for example, reported losing nine barns and  110 acres of shade-grown tobacco. The damage was estimated at $100,000.

The Dade City Banner was forced to abandon its offices, the Mt. Zion Methodist Church was demolished, and the storm damaged roofs, toppled trees, took down smokestacks and flattened water tanks, among other things.

The region has had its health scares, too.

While today’s news is dominated by COVID-19, headlines in the past have covered yellow fever and the Spanish influenza, among others.

Over the years, Sanders has written about life’s trials and triumphs, its death and despair.

He’s done much of his work the old-fashioned way: Through interviews, old documents, personal visits and newspaper archives.

“It takes a lot of effort to track this stuff down,” Sanders said.

Just about anything can be found on the Internet, but that’s not good enough, Sanders said.

“You’ve got to find out if it’s fact or not.

“Even though we have modern technology, there’s still nothing to replace shoe leather,” the history columnist said.

To read Doug Sanders’ Knowing Your History columns in their entirety, just visit LakerLutzNews.com, and search for Doug Sanders on our website.

Published August 12, 2020

Union Park community celebrates Juneteenth

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NeVaeh Akers-Atkins offered a simple explanation for why she was at a local Juneteenth event last week.

“It’s very important to me,” the 11-year-old said. “It shows people that we should be treated the same.”

She was with families and friends at the first annual Juneteenth Family Day Celebration in Wesley Chapel’s Union Park community.

The event was held to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States, which occurred on June 19, 1865.

Juneteenth is also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day.

The inaugural celebration at Union Park came together in two weeks of whirlwind planning by residents and members of Carmel Friendship Church.

Faraasha Bell, 13, left, and NeVaeh Akers-Atkins,11, delight the crowd with an impressionistic dance during a Juneteenth celebration at Union Park in Wesley Chapel. (Fred Bellet)

Songs, dance, music, food, prayer, prizes and fellowship filled a day of activities from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., on June 19, at the Union Park clubhouse on Bering Road.

“We’re having one big celebration,” said organizer Melissa Akers-Atkins. “It’s one of many to come.”

The program included 16-year-old Miranda Archibald, who read the poem, “We Rose,” by Kristina Kay.

And, Aniya Stratford, of Carmel Friendship Church, sang, “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” which often is referred to as the Black national anthem.

President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, freeing slaves living in the Confederate states.

Pastor Quincy Stratford of the Carmel Friendship Church offers a prayer at the first annual Juneteenth Family Day Celebration in Wesley Chapel’s Union Park. His wife, Jennifer, and 30 members of the church, are there to celebrate the end of slavery.

But, the news in those days traveled slowly, or in some instances, wasn’t acknowledged by slave owners.

On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers came ashore at Galveston, Texas, and announced the end of the Civil War and the end of slavery. The date was 2 ½ years after Lincoln’s proclamation.

A few months later, on Dec. 6, 1865, the 13th amendment to the U.S. Constitution abolished slavery everywhere. The following year, Juneteenth celebrations, often hosted by African-American churches, took root.

Many states now recognize the holiday. A campaign is underway now for Congress to declare Juneteenth as a federal holiday.

“It makes me happy that it’s finally being recognized locally as a holiday,” said Jamila Wright, owner of Writz Jewelry. “With everything that’s going on, it’s very important that people in general learn more about our history. I think it should be a federal holiday.”

Wright was among several black-owned businesses at the Union Park event.

Food truck owners for Wing Box, Craving Donuts and Sun’s Just Egg Rolls rolled into the clubhouse parking lot.

Vendors and sponsors included Writz Jewelry, QDP Photography, Mary Kay, Red Robin, Sign Dreamers of Wesley Chapel, and Julie’s African Hair Braiding.

Carmel Friendship Church and Union Park Charter Academy had informative displays.

Jordan Glogowski’s mask is emblazoned with a symbol for love and a T-shirt with a similar message.

Kat Stylez (her author’s name) set up a table with artwork and her first book of poetry, “Girl, Who Hurt You?”

Raising awareness of the importance of Juneteenth was one of the organizers’ goals. But, they also want to foster unity, a sense of safety, and civic participation through voting.

“We are blessed,” said organizer Tabatha Johnson. “It is important to showcase this celebration. This is the day for African-Americans. But, the celebration is not to dismiss any other culture or race.”

The recent deaths of black men by police officers, including George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks, the Black Lives Matter movement and street protests brought greater attention to the Juneteenth celebrations this year.

For Faraasha Bell, 13, Juneteenth “means that we get to learn how other people got treated and how other people experience it.”

She had Brooks’ death in mind when she said, “I see it on the news and how terrifying it is.”

Markee Duncan, 36, gave testimony as a 6-foot-5 black man who is “two shades darker than 8:30 p.m.”

Kaylen Boss, 22, left, looks over a copy of her twin sister, Kat Stylez’s book, ‘Girl, Who Hurt You?’ Stylez, a vendor at the event, was selling her book and artwork.

Growing up in South Carolina, he said blacks were told not to look white people in the eye and to move across the street to avoid unnecessary contact.

“In history class all I learned about is men who didn’t look like me,” Duncan said.

He said he has been pulled over by police while driving in largely white neighborhoods. “The melanin of my skin didn’t allow me the same rights as those in the Constitution.”

Akers-Atkins said organizers hope to host a Juneteenth celebration annually at Union Park. But, they also want to host other cultural events through the year.

Johnson said: “We do have faith that we will continue to grow, to know we are here and can help each other. It’s important to have empathy. I love seeing so much diversity in our community.”

Published June 24, 2020

Did Lincoln actually sign this document?

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My travels to Lincoln, Illinois, began with a column published in The Laker/Lutz News on July 11, regarding a document that had been passed down, from one generation — to the next, to the next.

From left, James M. Cornelius, John Paul and Norm Schmidt, examine Martha Fountain’s Lincoln Document, in downtown Springfield, Illinois. (Courtesy of Doug Sanders)

That column pondered: What would it be like to have a large document signed by Abraham Lincoln, and not know its value or its history — or if it really had been signed by the nation’s 16th president?

The document belongs to 84-year-old Martha M. Fountain, a lifelong resident of Zephyrhills.

It is an Executive Order, dated Dec. 15, 1864, and appears to be signed by President Abraham Lincoln, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton and Assistant Adjutant Gen. E.D. Townsend.

The document originally belonged to Martha’s husband of 31 years, Guy Joseph Fountain Jr.

It had hung proudly in his office at Best Way Electric in Dade City.

When he died in 2016 it became Martha’s sole property, because the couple had no children.

Martha Fountain proudly holds her Lincoln document.

However, Martha had no knowledge of the document’s original history.

After months of research involving several military websites and the History Center at the Pioneer Florida Museum and Village, north of Dade City, I tracked down the history of Guy Fountain’s great-great uncle Samuel Warren Fountain, who was 15 years old at the outbreak of the American Civil War on April 12, 1861.

To recap some of that history, Samuel volunteered to join the Ohio National Guard, serving under Maj. Gen. David Hunter, during the Valley Campaigns of 1864. Hunter later achieved his own fame as part of the military commission trying the conspirators involved in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.

Samuel’s military career also continued, involving at one point military campaigns against Geronimo and Sitting Bull.

In 1904, when Samuel was a lieutenant colonel, he directed security at the St. Louis World’s Fair.

President Abraham Lincoln’s signature remains legible after 154 years.

Ironically, Geronimo was also at the fair as a living exhibit intended as a “monument to the progress of civilization.”

Samuel was a brigadier general a year before the Lincoln Memorial was dedicated in the nation’s capital, and he gave a speech about Lincoln during an appearance before the Union League Club of Philadelphia on Feb. 9, 1921.

In part, Samuel said: “Other men have reunited a divided nation, or liberated an enslaved race, or carried to conclusion a fratricidal war, or swept immoral institutions from the earth by consummate statesmanship; but no man ever combined and carried through, chiefly by the clarity of his mind and the purity of his character, several such gigantic enterprises in half a decade.”

So, with Samuel’s accomplishments well-documented — and with the permission of Martha and her attorney, John Council, I set out with the document to the Land of Lincoln to see what I could find out about it.

Traveling to find some answers
The trip itself was quite an adventure.

In an attempt to outrun Hurricane Michael, in October, I barely missed a tornado — that was just a mile away in Jacksonville.

Then, I survived a hotel room without power, in Walterboro, South Carolina, and then spent an afternoon with the staff at a Cracker Barrel in Charlotte, because of heavy downpours in North Carolina.

Lincoln, Illinois, is the only town named by Lincoln himself. He was a young lawyer practicing there from 1847 to 1859.

Once I reached the home of Norm and Judi Schmidt, who live in Akron, Ohio, I soon would have a personal guide for the remainder of my trip.

Norm had learned about Martha’s Lincoln document through a copy of my column he received from Donna Swart, a former mayor of San Antonio and former curator of the Pioneer Florida Museum and Village in Dade City.

Donna also was a neighbor who grew up next door to Norm’s family farm in Illinois.

When Norm and I arrived in downtown Springfield, Illinois, on a cold Sunday afternoon, James M. Cornelius and John Paul were there to meet us.

Cornelius is the curator of the Lincoln Collection at the Lincoln Presidential Library, and Paul is a bookseller who owns Prairie Archives in downtown Springfield.

We asked Cornelius to assess the authenticity of the document.

He told us: “The signatures of Lincoln, Stanton and Townsend were engraved by someone using a real signature, so it could be reproduced over and over.

Dr. David Gerlach is president of Lincoln College in Lincoln, Illinois. It is the only institution of higher education named after President Lincoln during his lifetime.

“The fine eagle decoration at the top also began as an engraving,” he said. “Once the printing plate had been set with the text, and the decoration, and the blank lines to be filled in by hand, any number of copies could be run off of a press from that plate. The ink used is darker, more enduring than what would come directly out of a fountain pen.”

Families in Ohio would have more reason to hold onto the documents since the names were handwritten, Cornelius explained.

“Ohio had roughly 15 regiments of these 100-days men in 1864,” he said. “At 1,000 men per regiment, that’s 15,000 copies printed with the engraved signature of Lincoln, Stanton and Townsend.”

The document received by Samuel Warren Fountain is unique in one way, however, Cornelius said.

“Most of the Ohio men who did the 100 days in 1864 were ‘old’ for soldiering, usually 30 to 45 years of age.”

So, it turns out that while the document wasn’t originally signed by Lincoln, it isn’t a forgery.

Paul examined Martha’s document, to estimate a value.

As part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864, Samuel Warren Fountain served under Maj. Gen. David Hunter during the Civil War. Hunter later achieved fame as the president of the military commission trying the conspirators involved with the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. (Courtesy of Robert Massey (Great-great nephew of Samuel Fountain)

Paul said that Martha’s document dates back to the civil war period. He also noted “some marginal tears and one small marginal loss.”

Paul estimated the document’s value at $400.

“Our value is based largely on the history of this individual soldier, an underage volunteer, with a subsequently successful military career,” Paul explained.

Cornelius agreed that Fountain’s history is compelling. “Rarely would you get a story and career as interesting as Fountain’s from such service.”

Indeed, Fountain was photographed with Douglas MacArthur at West Point, and was good friends with John “Black Jack” Pershing, who later served as the commander of the American Expeditionary Force during World War 1.

After visiting Springfield, Norm and I traveled south to the city of Lincoln, Illinois, where the Lincoln Heritage Museum is located on the campus of Lincoln College.

It was here that an offer was made to display Martha’s document as part of 50,000 items of Lincoln memorabilia at the museum.

Martha and her attorney are delighted that the document will have a permanent home in Illinois.

“This seems to be a perfect place,” Martha said, smiling broadly.

Doug Sanders has a penchant for unearthing interesting stories about local history. His sleuthing skills have been developed through his experiences in newspaper and government work. If you have an idea for a future history column, contact Doug at .

Published December 26, 2018 

Some things truly are priceless

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Remember finding a coin or arrowhead and wondering if it’s worth anything?

Imagine having a large document signed by Abraham Lincoln, passed down from one generation to the next, and not really knowing its value or its history with the nation’s 16th president.

For now, it has a safe and protected place in the home of 84-year-old Martha M. Fountain, a lifelong resident of Zephyrhills.

Dated December 15, 1864, Martha Fountain proudly holds ‘The President’s Thanks and Certificate of Honorable Service’ signed by Abraham Lincoln at the Executive Mansion in Washington City.
(Doug Sanders)

She lives in a community that was founded in 1909 by Capt. Howard B. Jeffries as a retirement colony for Union Civil War Veterans.

A newspaper man himself, Jeffries would not have missed the opportunity to write about Martha.

She has been the artifact’s owner since her husband’s death in 2016.

Married for 31 years to Guy Joseph Fountain Jr., Martha remembers the document hanging in her husband’s office of the Best Way Electric Company in Dade City.

“I’m not much into history,” Martha explained during a recent interview in her home, with her caregiver at her side. “I don’t know much about my husband’s family history,” she added.

Following six months of research with several military websites and The History Center at the Pioneer Florida Museum and Village north of Dade City, the remarkable life of the man named on the Lincoln document begins to emerge.

It turns out Guy Fountain had a great-great uncle named Samuel Warren Fountain.

He was only 15-years-old at the outbreak of the American Civil War on April 12, 1861.

Samuel had to wait until 1864 before joining an infantry of the 8th Corps of the Army of West Virginia, which became famous for having future U.S. presidents Rutherford B. Hayes and William McKinley serving in its ranks.

As part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864, Samuel Warren Fountain served under Maj. Gen. David Hunter during the Civil War. Hunter later achieved fame as the president of the military commission trying the conspirators involved with the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
(Robert Massey)

Samuel Fountain graduated from West Point on June 15, 1870, four months before the death of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Lexington, Virginia.

Commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the 8th U.S. Cavalry, he was active for the next 20 years in military campaigns against Geronimo and Sitting Bull.

He once described a skirmish in New Mexico as “rough country where horses cannot go.”

During the Spanish-American War, Samuel Fountain served first commanding a squadron of the 8th Cavalry in Cuba.

As Adjutant General in the Philippine Islands, a captain on his staff was John J. “Black Jack” Pershing, who later served as the commander of the American Expeditionary Force on the Western Front during World War I.

In 1904, when Fountain was a lieutenant colonel, he was put in charge of security at the St. Louis World’s Fair.

According to the Arlington National Cemetery website, a local newspaper reported this:

“Under his direction the members of the guard controlled the great mass of people…and on the last day of the Fair, when disorder and vandalism were feared, every officer and member of the guard was on duty, and so placed that when the lights were out and the World’s Fair at St. Louis had passed into history, not a disorderly act had occurred, or a dollar’s worth of property had been destroyed.”

Ironically, Geronimo was also at the fair as a living exhibit intended as a “monument to the progress of civilization.” Under guard, he made bows and arrows while Pueblo women seated beside him pounded corn and made pottery. Geronimo also sold autographs and posed for pictures.

President Abraham Lincoln’s signature remains legible after 154 years.
(Doug Sanders)

Samuel Fountain was a brigadier general a year before the Lincoln Memorial was dedicated in the nation’s capital. He gave a speech about Abraham Lincoln during his appearance before the Union League Club of Philadelphia on February 9, 1921:

“Other men have reunited a divided nation, or liberated an enslaved race, or carried to conclusion a fratricidal war, or swept immoral institutions from the earth by consummate Statesmanship; but no man ever combined and carried through, chiefly by the clarity of his mind and the purity of his character, several such gigantic enterprises in half a decade.”

Samuel Fountain died on Nov. 15, 1930, five months after the birth of Guy Fountain, and six years before the death of Capt. Howard Jeffries in New York City on March 20, 1936.

Martha Fountain recalls turning down an offer to sell the Lincoln document still in her possession.

But, with no children, she is undecided about its future.

At this point, she’s not sure what she will do with it. Before doing anything, she plans to consult her lawyer, John Council.

Council has had his own brush with preserving history, having a law office in Dade City at the historic red brick jailhouse, where the last legal hanging in Pasco County was carried out on Jan. 4, 1918.