Iolans eager to save the Santa Fe depot were gathered at the depot collecting signatures on a petition urging the railway to offer the building for sale so that it could be used for a museum, restaurant or for another purpose. More than 150 signatures had been collected. The company gave several reasons why it should be razed, including stipulations in the deed which requires the land to return to the estates of the S.S. Northrup and R. W. Acers families if it ceases being used for railroad purposes. The company said it would be difficult to ever obtain a clear title to the property because of those restrictions, which would make it legally difficult to sell. The depot was built not long after the turn of the century and has been closed for several years.
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LaVerne Eichman has made a thriving business of his Charity Thrift Shop at 3 S. Jefferson. He collects donated clothing and other things most anyone can use and then he resells them at a fraction of their original cost. Some people can’t afford even Eichman’s low prices — a good pair of double-knit trousers for $1 and a like-new child’s shirt for 25 cents — and when that happens, Eichman gives it to them. “That’s where the charity in the store’s name comes from. I help anyone who really needs help,” he said.
