70 years ago

may 31, 1951

Work being done by city crews in preparation to putting in the new light poles along Main Street has provided a new fund of materials for sidewalk superintendents. Crews have dug and picked their way through old stone gutters and other rock covered over when the city was paved and will make a start for the digging machine that will follow.

Dennis Patterson, 18-year-old deaf mute boy, was instantly killed Wednesday afternoon when he was hit by an eastbound Santa Fe passenger train about a mile west of Peabody. The son of Mrs. Lacester Patterson of Peabody, he apparently had been fishing and sat down on the tracks, oblivious of the approaching train.

Private Betty Lou Longhofer, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Godfrey Longhofer, Marion, graduated recently from Marine recruit training at Parris Island, South Carolina. After a 10-day leave she will take her place in the Marine Corps enabling a man to be released for duty in a combat organization.

At least one barn burned to the ground following the storm Wednesday night. The one on the Fred Haefke farm, three miles southwest of Lincolnville, was struck by lightning and the fire is still burning this morning.

A revival of oil interest is expected in and around Marion due to the test currently being made on H.H. Johnsmeyer property southwest of the city. The location is almost in the center of four previous tests, all of which failed to show. The other tests, on Meisinger, Schlotthauer, Williams, and Good properties, are each about a mile from this new well site.

All kids in Marion owning bicycles are asked by the local police department to meet at 2 p.m. Monday at the city building to form a Bicycle Safety Club. At the same time, bicycles will be numbered and registered so they will be easier to identify when located after being either lost, misplaced, or stolen.