The short gentleman at the lower left in the photo above is Mr. Stoopnagle (first name unknown, unless it was "Mr."). The taller fellow is the young Arthur J. Hallinan, Sr. — before he added the “Sr.” to his name. This appears to be the only surviving picture of Mr. S. At first glance, he looks like a garden-variety garden gnome. But far from being merely decorative landscape-candy, this gnome had a more complicated and utilitarian life: he was a working sprinkler head, with a hose attachment (presumably somewhere in his nether regions) and orifices that sprayed water for the refreshment of nearby plants. And, oh yes, Mr. S. had one remarkable gift in particular: he could talk. More about that in a bit, but first a little background.
