Loan expands Santa Fe Trail collection
Staff writer
Local Santa Fe Trail buffs will benefit from a private book collection loaned long-term to Marion City Library by the Cottonwood Crossing chapter of the Santa Fe Trails Association.
General history, personal journals, and individual topics such as wagons and forts are part of the collection, Head Librarian Janet Marler said.
“We had just a few books on the Santa Fe Trail, and luckily they have ones we didn’t have,” Marler said. “We’re very fortunate and grateful to have them.”
The Cottonwood Crossing chapter focuses on Marion County remnants of the Santa Fe Trail.
Association member Dale Brooks of Newton compiled the diverse cache of about 30 books, which the chapter received following his death in 2004.
“Dale laid out an auto tour through Marion County that takes you to a lot of historic sites related to the Santa Fe Trail,” chapter president Steve Schmidt said.
“We were trying to check them out to chapter members but it wasn’t working out, so we decided to donate them to the Marion City Library,” Schmidt said.
Marler said the loan of the books to the library is open-ended.
“They’re not ours to keep, but they didn’t give a time limit. If they’re used I think they’ll leave them,” Marler said.
The books will be on display in the library’s Kansas Room and available for checkout, Marler said.