WSYX Channel 6 in Columbus boldly announced recently that bones had been found in Marion in a known Indian burial ground. The bones they claimed could belong to an Indian. Reality, when set in showed the bones to have belonged to a dog buried beneath the Indian Mound Elementary School’s basketball court many years ago.

Where on earth did Channel 6 learn or get the idea that the hill next to Indian Mound School was a known Indian burial ground? For many years in my opinion, the so-called Indian mound has been mistaken for a pile of soil. The soil coming from quarries that at one time flourished in the area. Where else would they haul the topsoil? Channel 6 wanted to make a bit of a sensation out of the bone story by saying that a grisly scene was uncovered in Marion. They even brought out a statement that said if the bones belonged to an Indian, Marion officials could be charged with a crime under federal laws for trying to dispose of the bones.

I do know of an Indian mound in the extreme northwest part of Marion County. The mound is quite visible and I have been told there were discoveries of artifacts. Whether or not experts were ever called in to investigate, remains a mystery to me.

In Crawford County, their park district has conducted digs at one of their facilities and has recovered both Native American and pioneer settler artifacts. This area is known as Unger Park and is located next to Aumiller Park and the Sandusky River.

History, unless backed up by eyewitness accounts or written records is just so much hearsay. History says that a group of surveyors approached Gospel Hill one day looking for a drink of water. It seems that they had been eating salt pork and were about to die from thirst. They reportedly dug a well on the hill and drank heartily. Now tell me do you think someone actually saw this happen and wrote an account right there, witnessing the digging? Chances are that they poked around a spring on the hill to aid the flow of water. I have been told the spring still exists and flows across the parking lot on the north side of the Marion Towers Building.

When Edward Huber located in Marion, they say it was because we had so much hardwood that it would make good tines for his revolving hay rake. Where Huber came from in Indiana, there were also hardwood forests with generous amounts of hardwood trees. So what was the real reason he located here?

A documented piece of history is the fact that court records from 1842 show that Eber Baker’s daughter Elizabeth, brought a man into the Marion County Courts and charged him with paternity. He said he did not do it. The judge said he did. Case settled. This story can be proven in an 1842 official court record.

In the Marion Cemetery there is a white marble statue of a lady honoring a member of the Sweeny family. Supposedly, her eyes glow after dark. This turns out to be just another story with no basis. Other than the revolving ball in the east end of the cemetery, there are no mysteries in the cemetery.

I hope to see some of you at the annual Bucyrus Bratwurst Festival August 14,15 and 16. As always I will be on the north side of the craft tent in the grass at City Hall. The annual MERFI (mid-east regional fly in) will be held on August 23^rd and 24^th. This is several weeks earlier than normal to finally get it away from the Marion Popcorn Festival. Crowds should be much larger this year.

I recently performed my Colonial trade at Plymouth, Ohio which coincided with the Silver King reunion. People came from all over the U.S. and Canada to see the Silver King tractors once made in Plymouth. Plymouth railroad engines were also made in the same plant. The name Plymouth used on the motorcar of the same name was purchased for $1.00 from the company in Plymouth making locomotives.