At the southern end of the northern approach to the city, in the centre of the recently created Centennial Garden, stands a unique cement structure. To the uninitiated, it might appear to be a large birdbath but it is, in fact, the base of a fountain dedicated to the memory of a notable Cranbrook pioneer, a fountain oddly spread in pieces throughout the city. It is a mount without a fount. It is the legacy of A Man Called Fink.

Jacob Pius Fink was born in Metz, Missouri on July 14, 1872, moving soon after with his family to Spokane. As a young man, he and wife Bessie came to the Kootenays via Ainsworth and Kaslo, eventually making their way to Fort Steele where he and brother John purchased the American Store in 1897. They renamed it the Fort Steele Mercantile Co., and soon thereafter relocated the business to the fledgling town of Cranbrook.

John retired from business in 1906 while “Jake” went on to erect the Fink Mercantile on Baker Street, the largest and most successful department store in the Kootenays.

Jake Fink soon became a popular driving force within the community, helping to organize and lead many of the city's longstanding institutions, including the Board of Trade, the Fire Dept., and the Rotary Club. He served as fire chief, mayor, alderman, President of the Board of Trade, member of the school board, and Steward of the United Church. A keen supporter of all things musical, his children Vincent and Wanda excelled on the violin and cello respectively.

In 1936, the Fink family moved from their original Cranbrook home at 133 – 11th Avenue (now the Pioneer Lodge) to the city of Nelson in order to better co-ordinate business interests throughout the Kootenays. Jacob Pius Fink died in Nelson on Feb. 27, 1949, age 76.

In 1958, the Fink family, headed by son Vincent, decided that a memorial to honour the family patriarch was in order and commissioned local Yugoslavian artist Zeljko Kujundzic to sculpt a fountain for placement in Cranbrook's Central Park (now the site of the Baker Street Mall). A native of Yugoslavia, Mr. Kujundzic ---- arrived that same year to take up the position of art instructor at Mt. Baker School. On Thanksgiving Day, October 1959, Mrs. Vincent Fink unveiled the monument before a large crowd to a rousing chorus of “Hmms.”

The sculpture, a white concrete base and bowl capped by a pair of upturned copper fish and decorated with three raised copper side murals and a memorial plaque met with decidedly mixed reactions among the viewers. Perhaps the most decidedly unmixed reaction came from Vincent Fink himself. He decidedly did not like it. He felt it was unworthy of his father's memory and refused to pay the remaining $275 of the $2,350 commission price.

The bill remained unsettled until 1961, when the City of Cranbrook, against Mr. Fink's advice, demonstrated more graciousness than the man who commissioned the piece and paid the remaining sum.

Personal tastes aside, the fountain was up and running. When the belaboured construction of the Cranbrook Mall began, the fountain found a new home next to City Hall. Forced to vacate due to building expansion, the fountain moved to Rotary Park where it remained for many years in a piecemeal and slowly deteriorating state. Removed two years ago in order to make way for the Spirit Square (obviously, notable Cranbrook pioneers are not the right type of spirits) the Fink Fountain resurfaced in the City Works Yard, as did two of the three copper plaques. The third plaque, depicting deer in motion, disappeared many years earlier. The fish are presently on display in City Hall.

If not for the concerted and ongoing efforts of Jenny Humphrey in convincing the city of the value and historical significance of the piece, it is safe to say that the fountain would have suffered a sad crumbling fate.

Artist Zeljko Kujundzic, now recognized worldwide as the creator of many notable works of art, died in 2003 at Osoyoos B.C., age 82. A fund-raising campaign for the reconstruction and preservation of the fountain is now underway. Perhaps someday water will once again spout forth from the lips of the fish of the fountain of The Man Called Fink.

Donations may be made to “Cranbrook in Bloom. Fink Fountain Project c/o City of Cranbrook Leisure Services, 40 – 10th Ave. S. Cranbrook B.C. V1C 5M8

Correction: As properly pointed out by a number of Janus readers, The Merc did not move to the Cranbrook Mall in 1977 as stated in the previous column but rather to the Tamarack Mall.