Dear editor,
Many times over the decades I have bemoaned the fact that our old courthouse was torn down. Iolans were told that there were structural damages that could not be repaired and that we needed a new and modern building to replace it. So, a seven-story building of brick and marble and cement from 1904 was destroyed after only 55 years for an ill-designed modern courthouse.
Driving across our country I see many cities and towns that have kept their old brick courthouses and they seem to be in fine condition. What does Iola have left? A clock.
There are other questionable decisions that have disfigured our town. The municipal swimming pool was the largest one in Kansas when it was built. Now, it’s a shadow of its former self and it has a ridiculous slippery-slide that few people use. That ugly metal slide must have taken a lot of money to build and install, money that could have been used to fix the old structure instead. Who made that decision? Were there any knowledgeable discussions aimed at educating the public?
When the old Kentucky Street Bridge was in need of repair in the 1970s, who decided to dynamite it? In so doing, they severed the southeast section of town from the convenient, century-old direct route to the farms south of Iola. That decision had serious financial consequences to the people who owned homes in that area.
Our old schools are stately and beautiful. Buildings we can be proud of. But, I agree with Larry Walden, they have been neglected over the last century. We need to respect and take care of what we have, or, as Larry points out, we lose even more of what our grandparents and our great-grandparents left us.
The first rule in real estate is location, location, location. The worst thing would be to move all the schools out of Iola’s core. If Iola is losing residents, why on earth should we take the population that’s left and move it to the outskirts of our city? That would most assuredly turn Iola into a ghost town.
So, what’s the solution? Fix the old buildings and then add on to them where possible. If we need more space for students, build new buildings close enough to the old ones to create a campus.
Tom Ellis,
Iola, Kan.
