Another grave tale

Sometimes, it takes years of digging to unearth historical tidbits. Other times, as with recent interest in what seem now to be actual graves at the former Allen County poor farm, one story begets another.
John Mulkey brought forth a tale of yet other unfortunate souls whose remains lie buried in a rather public spot.
Mulkey worked construction in the early 1950’s, he said. At the time, old Highway 169 was being redone, and bulldozers unearthed human remains in the middle of the road.
“The graves were there before the road ever was,” the 79-year-old Mulkey said of the discovery.
Three large and four small graves were briefly uncovered. Crews decided the remains were those of a wagon train that had never made it past Iola. Uncertainty over what the travelers died from, however, meant the remains were let lie.
At that time, Mulkey said, the government required those who came in physical contact with such human remains to undergo a six month quarantine. Not interested in such a lay-off, the workers left the graves in place, and merely paved over them.
It’s unlikely that whatever had done in the would-be settlers would have survived to infect the road crew, but the decision was firm.
He said crosses were put alongside the road to remember the travelers buried underneath.
Mulkey said at the time, the story made quite the rounds at watering holes where the crews met after work.

9/18/09