25 Years Ago
McKinley Elementary School fifth-graders and several city officials were present at Tuesday’s opening of Cofachique Park. The students named the park in honor of the first county seat, a small pro-slavery community on the Neosho River near Riverside Park which was abandoned and disappeared shortly after it was created. The park, designed as a roadside rest area, is on the north edge of Iola on State Street.
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Stanley E. Toland, veteran Iola attorney and former state legislator, died Saturday at the age of 87. During his long career as an attorney he served 51 years as attorney for the Board of Education at Iola. From 1947 through 1990 he served on the board of directors of Iola Bank and Trust Company. Prior to Security Savings and Loan Association being merged into Franklin Savings Association, Toland served 40 years on its board of directors.
