50 Years Ago
October 1969
An 80-acre site was purchased yesterday by the Iola City Commission for an industrial park. The acreage, which is across from the Wichman Ford Agency on U.S. 169 about a mile north of town, cost $36,000. The citys investment will increase substantially as utilities are brought to the area. The money was taken from an industrial fund created by the sale of a portion of the land owned by the city adjacent to the Iola Municipal Airport. The same fund was used to buy the land sold this year to Iola Molded Plastics for expansion of its boat plant. This sale returned about $30,000 to the fund and made the new purchase possible, Mayor Jack Hastings said.
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A new manufacturing plant will be constructed within a year north of Iola by H.L. Miller and Son, maker of Nancy Frock Dresses. Horace Miller, president and founder of the company, said the firm has bought 17 acres on the east side of the Santa Fe Railroad north of Iola. Miller said the plan is that within five years all operations will be moved to the new site with more than 60,000 square feet to accomodate management, design, production and shipping. Employment at the plant is presently at 160. If growth continues as it has for the past three years, more than 300 should be employed making Nancy Frocks by 1972. Looking a bit further ahead, Horaces son, Ed, can see the potential of a complex with 120,000 square feet of floor space hiring more than 600 workers. This might be the maximum size for a single plant operation, he said.
