Iolan Joe Lilly put us in touch with local history that’s meaningful in Moran today. MORAN DAY was on a weekday for many years, until finding a home on Saturday. A COUPLE of news items caught my attention:
Lilly dropped by a yellowed copy of The Moran Herald from Oct. 30, 1947, which contained a lead story entitled, “Moran Ready for Big Day.” It was an account of the run-up to the first Moran Day fall festival.
A few excerpts:
“Moran has been bustling with extra activity for the past two weeks in anticipation of the big ‘Moran Day’ next Tuesday, Nov. 4, and everything has been planned so that all who attend are assured of an enjoyable and profitable day.
“WIBW (Radio) entertainers have been contracted to give a free concert in the early part of the evening and to play for the dance at night. Ezra Hawkins, well-known, old-time fiddler, will be master of ceremonies. Assisting him will be … Virginia Lee, red-headed yodeler.
“Local business and professional men have planned the day so that there will something doing after the beginning of the parade at 10 a.m. They are giving away several hundred dollars worth of merchandise … (after) the football game between Moran and Bronson grades. The game is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
“The team-pulling contest will begin at noon, at which $120 will be the prize money, for eight placings. A matinee at the Minor Theatre … will begin at 2 o’clock.
“The parade will be led by the high school band. Elementary rural schools nearby and the Moran grade rooms will compete for prizes on floats … Merchants will enter floats, various implements and new cars, but this will not be in competition against the schools and no prizes will be offered.
“The Lam-Perkins new warehouse, which is opening that day, is being loaned for the dance in the evening.
“A large cortege of Moran cars, accompanied by the high school band, are on a trip today boosting for Moran Day. They will visit 12 surrounding towns.”
Dee Ann Parsons, Chanute, remembers well.
She was born the year before the festival started and grew up a couple of miles north of Moran, the daughter of Howard and Margery Donald. The Donald homeplace today is the site of the old Klein Tools plant.
“I remember Moran Day being on Wednesdays,” she said, a fact lost on some of her childhood friends. “We’d get out of school to go.”
As many children did, Dee Ann rode on floats, and has a cherished photo of herself on one in grade school.
“It was a lot of fun,” she recalled.
The Moran High Wildcats defeated Mound City, 8-7, the previous Friday night. Jim Lincicome scored Moran’s touchdown on “an off-tackle plunge.”
Moran’s margin of victory came when a Mound City player intercepted a pass in the end zone, and it was signaled a safety, good for two points. Later, it was noted the play should have resulted in a touchback, and no points for Moran, but officials decided it was too late to change the scoring.
It was noted Allen County voters approved $275,000 in bonds, by a 1,794 to 782 count, to build a new county hospital in Iola.
The biggest margin was in Iola, 992-223. Moran voters weren’t in favor, with 183 against, 88 for.
You read the bond issue total correctly, $275,000.
An advertisement in the paper announced the opening of a new Ford car agency in Moran, Wall Motors. Barnes-Weast Farm Supply announced the new John Deere Model M general purpose tractor, with “Touch-O-Matic” hydraulic control had arrived.
Moran Day was top story in local paper
