That the Iola square lacks a public restroom was brought up at the Feb. 6 forum on how to improve downtown.
Many years ago, our downtown not only had a municipal restroom but it also came with a matron, Miss Dora Langford. The restroom was a cooperative effort between the City of Iola and the Professional Women’s Club and first opened in 1937.
In 1948, the restroom was on the second floor of 14 S. Washington in what was known as the Munger building. In that year alone, more than 4,500 women had signed their names in the guestbook when visiting the facility. That number doesn’t include the thousands of children likely in their tow. (Why it was for women and children only, I don’t have a clue.)
Later that year, the municipal restroom was moved to the Litwin building on the east side of the square where, according to an excerpt from the 1948 Iola Register, “the three front rooms of the building have been secured, providing spacious quarters with an abundance of light. The restroom is one of the most appreciated services provided by the city.”
The restroom was not without its opponents, primarily city leaders who resented the annual expense of $2,000 to maintain the facility.
In 1951, Miss Thelma Roberts, president of the Business and Professional Women Club, led a delegation of its members to a meeting of city commissioners where she issued a “strong plea” to continue the municipal restroom, arguing it “offers not only a toilet but also a place where babies and small children may be fed and tired mothers may rest.” According to the guest book records of that year, 6,681 women used the public facility, including many from out of town.
Perennially challenged by city fathers to prove its value, in 1959 the BPW sampled a period of use where the guestbook showed more than 300 women from outside Allen County had registered to use the facility.
Downtown merchants also favored its continuance. In October of ’59, Iola merchants E.H. Harriman, Frank Means, Warren Dennis and Ray Metcalf petitioned city leaders to continue the service.
Year after year, the women and merchants fought for the continuance of the public restroom, but once the new courthouse opened its doors in 1960 they lost the battle. The new courthouse came with modern restrooms, commissioners argued, and the annual fee of by then $2,600 was too much for the city to bear.
Let it be known that when the service came to an end, Miss Dora Langford was still at the helm as matron.
IN RESEARCHING the back issues of the Register for the upcoming Chronicles of Allen County, I’ve discovered what appears to be a kinder, gentler era. Operators said “good day” when they connected you to your party line. Attendants pumped the gas, washed your windows and checked the oil when you pulled up to the station. And stores had plenty of clerks to answer questions and help you find things.
In our march toward progress, have everyday niceties been left by the wayside?
No, of course not. But putting a public restroom back on the square, say in one of the pocket parks on either the east or north side of the square, would go a long ways to bringing back a much appreciated amenity.
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