Buried fountain unearthed after 48 years

EL CAJON, Calif., July 24 (UPI) -- Two senior citizens who moved and buried a drinking fountain at an El Cajon, Calif., school nearly 50 years ago have admitted to the deed.

Dick Hager and Craig Ashley said they buried the drinking fountain as part of a senior prank before they graduated from Grossmont High School in 1960, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Thursday.

The pair said they buried the 300-pound fountain, which was given to the school as a gift when it opened in the 1920s, because they found it to be too heavy to carry.

"We were going to take it and put it in the back of my mom's Chrysler," Ashley said.

The two, who have remained friends through the years, said they told the principal of the school about the fountain's location but nothing was ever done about it until it was dug up during a ceremony last week. They publicly announced their identities as the pranksters during the ceremony.

"Somebody has to have a conscience," Hager said.

School officials said the fountain will be refurbished and returned to the school near its original location outside of a classroom.

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