Santa Fe Trail to be Old Settlers theme
Staff writer
September’s Old Settlers Day weekend will celebrate 200 years on the Santa Fe Trail.
Marion Kiwanis, which organizes Old Settlers Day, set the theme at its meeting last week.
The event ordinarily includes a parade, a meal in Central Park, and a golf tournament.
The festival honors graduating classes in five-year increments. Classes being honored traditionally plan reunions the weekend of the event.
Graduates from these classes are being offered a special gift this year — a free subscription to the Record from now until after the event.
Class members may sign up at https://mnks.us/free or at (620) 382-2165.
The festival began in 1881 as a picnic for people who arrived in the 1860s. In the 1890s, Old Settlers Day became a countywide event. It was revived in 1912 and made an annual Marion event.