35 years ago
SEPTEMBER 18, 1969
Old fashioned "Carnival Glass" insulators on electric utility poles around Marion proved to be too much of a temptation for three thieves from western Kansas Saturday. The insulators have a book price of $25 each to collectors. Three men from Syracuse came to Marion Saturday, complete with climbing hooks and gear to go up the poles. They took off several insulators and replaced them with new ones. An alert citizen noticed the strange men changing insulators and took down the tag number of their car. The information was given to Marion Police Chief Lyle Sanders. He and Sheriff Jerry O'Hair began looking for the car, but it had left town. The tag was identified and information given that it was from Syracuse. The two officers went to Syracuse with search warrants and roused the three out of bed at their homes. An insulator was found and the three men were returned to Marion and placed in the county jail. They pled guilty the next morning in county court and were fined.
Equipment for construction of the memorial fount to be erected in Central Park has arrived. Steve Jost, contractor, will build the fountain and will start work just as soon as Old Settlers' Day is over.
On Friday night of last week one of the town landmarks was threatened by fire when the Elgin Hotel broke into flames. In 20 minutes alert firemen put out the blaze that completely filled the former hotel dining room and saw flames lapping into the third story of the native stone building. It is speculation that the fire started in the pile of mattresses stacked under the balcony in the former dining room. Damage, though considerable, was not nearly as much as most people would expect.
Randall R. Pope, 37, a native of Durham and son of Mr. and Mrs. R.S. Pope, Route 1, Marion, has been named as the new superintendent of the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in Iowa. He is a landscape architect, and has been involved in the planning of the site, according to the National Park Service.
