Saturday, November 7, 2020
Locally owned since 1867
Saving a piece of history By SUSAN LYNN The Iola Register
Job Springer may not know much about fashion, but his instincts were good when he recently purchased the former Sophisticated Rose clothing store on the southeast corner of the Iola square. The location is to become the new headquarters for Audacious Boutique come mid-January. Springer laid money down on the two-story building on Aug. 12 without really knowing what he would do with it. “All I knew was that it needed some TLC,” he said. And from experience, he knew the building had “good bones.” The north portion of the building dates back to the early 1870s. The building to the south is “newer” by a decade or so and was headquarters for the King Bridge Company. From around 1877 to 1904, both buildings served as one of Allen County’s first courthouses, before the iconic towered brick building was constructed in the courthouse lawn. When crews removed the wallboard they found a latticework of two by fours behind
A wheelbarrow full of limestone rocks that have fallen out of the north wall and will eventually be reinserted into the wall.
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Humboldt PD hit by COVID By SUSAN LYNN The Iola Register
“We’re falling like flies,” said Shannon Moore, police chief of Humboldt. Of Humb o l d t ’s f ive - m e m ber police force, two have tested Chief Shannon positive for Moore C OV I D - 1 9 and Chief Moore, who is displaying symptoms, was awaiting her test results Friday afternoon. Moore said she has contacted the Allen County Sheriff ’s Department as well as the Kansas High-
Above, construction workers, from left, Steve Meierhanes and Jerry Block, Jr., take a break with Job Springer during the renovation of the former Sophisticated Rose. The exposed wall shows limestone rocks used in construction of the building back in the 1870s. At right is the outside of the building.
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COVID cases spike in region
REGISTER/SUSAN LYNN
which stood another wall of plasterboard covering a brick wall. Today, sections of the plasterboard remain, having been chiseled away in artful forms, leaving bricks exposed elsewhere. A coat of lacquer brings out their rich tone, said Keith Keller, contractor for the project. “Polyurethane will sit on top of it. Lacquer sinks into it.” When the north wall in the adjoining room was tapped, large limestone rocks, not bricks, were revealed. Poke too deep, and segments crumble into dust. Keller said he’ll mix Portland cement in with the ma-
By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register
sonry to fill in the gaps, using lime to give it a whiter tint. “Then some glue will help bond the new and old elements together.” The lowered ceilings have been removed, exposing a very worn tin-paneled ceiling, many beyond repair. Thanks to a tip from Joe Works of Humboldt, Springer was able to track down replacements through a Nevada, Mo.-based store W.F. Norman, “the only company in the country that replicates,” the metal panels, Springer said. “You’d be surprised how
many different designs there are,” he said. “The tiles are tin, so they don’t like water,” he said. “So don’t paint them with latex paint, only oil-based.” And try to avoid a leaky roof. “Oh it’s new now,” he said with a smile. “Good for another 20 years,” crediting Boren’s Roofing for the work. The awning’s shake shingles have been replaced with a metal roofing material, “that should last 50 years,” Springer said. “Hope people like it because it’s going to be here a
As COVID-19 cases rise in Allen County and the region, it’s important to continue to take precautionary measures to limit the spread of infection, a Saint Luke’s infectious disease physician said. The total confirmed COVID-19 cases in Allen County grew to 175, an increase of 32 since last week. Public health and safety agencies have reported new cases as well. The county had 61 positive cases as of Thursday
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Biden time: Ballots still being counted WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrat Joe Biden was on the cusp of winning the presidency on Friday as he opened up narrow leads over President Donald Trump in the critical battlegrounds of Georgia and Pennsylvania. Those put Biden in a stronger position to capture the 270 Joe Biden Electoral College votes needed to take the White House. The winner will lead a country facing a historic set of challenges, including a surging pandemic and deep political polarization. The focus on PennsylvaVol. 122, No. 262 Iola, KS 75 Cents
nia, where Biden led Trump by more than 9,000 votes, and Georgia, where Biden led by more than 1,500, came as Americans entered a third full day after the election without knowing who will lead them for the next four years. The prolonged process added to the anxiety of a nation whose racial and cultural divides were inflamed during the heated campaign. Biden was at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, as the vote count continued and aides said he would address the nation in primetime. That had not happened when the Register went to press. Trump largely remained See ELECTION | Page A7
Combine catches fire Dalton Furman was cutting beans in his John Deere 5690 combine Thursday evening, when the unit caught fire. Furman was able to escape the cab uninjured. Volunteers from the Marmaton-Osage Rural Fire Department were called to extinguish the blaze. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ALLEN COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT
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