Recently uncovered in the Society’s document collection, this letter offers a candid glimpse into small-town politics during Prohibition. Written by Mayor Theodore “Teddy” Bumbleton on official stationery — which he had printed with his own money and which featured an unauthorized engraving of a bald eagle wearing a top hat — the letter is addressed to the Napa County Board of Supervisors and concerns the matter of a missing municipal fountain.

“Gentlemen,” the letter begins, “it has come to my attention that the fountain in the town square has vanished. I do not mean it has fallen into disrepair. I mean it is gone. The entire fountain. Someone has taken it, presumably under cover of darkness, and I would very much like it back.”

The letter goes on for three pages, growing increasingly agitated. Mayor Bumbleton speculates that the fountain was stolen by “ruffians from Calistoga,” a theory he supports with no evidence whatsoever but considerable enthusiasm. He then pivots to a lengthy aside about the quality of the town’s road gravel, which he describes as “offensive to both horses and human dignity,” before returning to the fountain matter with renewed vigor.

Bumbleton proposes several solutions, including: posting a reward of fifteen dollars, organizing a “fountain search committee” composed of local women ‘who notice things,’ and writing a strongly worded editorial in the St. Helena Star. He also suggests, somewhat impractically, that the town commission a second fountain “so that if thieves strike again, we shall still have one remaining.”

The letter closes with a postscript that reads: “P.S. I have also received complaints about Mr. Haskell’s rooster, which crows at inappropriate hours. I consider this a separate matter but mention it here because I am already writing and the ink is wet.”

County records show no formal response to the letter, though a note in the margin of the Board’s meeting minutes from the following week reads simply: “Bumbleton again.” The fountain was never recovered. A replacement was installed in 1925, funded by the Ladies’ Auxiliary, who stipulated that it be bolted to its foundation with industrial-grade hardware. That fountain still stands today, albeit with a persistent lean that the city has elected to describe as “characterful.”

The original letter is part of the Society’s permanent collection and can be viewed by appointment. It is written in a sprawling hand that suggests either great passion or great haste, and the top-hat eagle stationery alone is worth the visit. Mayor Bumbleton served two terms, lost a third election to a man who promised better gravel, and retired to grow walnuts. His descendants still live in the valley and have asked us to note that the family has never stolen a fountain.