The Fish and Game Stamps of Marion County, Kansas
Waterfowl Stamps Issued
When plans for the park and lake were being developed during the 1930s, waterfowl hunting was not included. As a result, no waterfowl stamp was issued in 1940. Something unexpected occurred during the fall and winter of 1940-41 which prompted local sportsmen to change their minds. According to an excerpt from “Park and Lake Notes” in the January 9, 1941, Marion Record, “Thousands of ducks have been with us since fall and are still here in large numbers…. they are beautiful to look at, but that is where their usefulness (currently) ends.” On September 16, 1941, the County Board of Commissioners passed and adopted a resolution on the motion of one J.J. Siebert to allow waterfowl hunting at the Marion County Park and Lake during the 1941 season, “Provided that each person so hunting shall have a state license with Federal duck Stamp attached, also a Marion County Duck stamp or permit as the case may be.” (see Figure 24).
Figures 24. On September 16, 1941, the County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution to allow waterfowl hunting at the Marion County Park and Lake. The document on the left is the original hand typed resolution; the one on the right is a photocopy of the signed resolution located in the Marion County Courthouse.
As with the Fishing Stamps, only county residents were to affix a county waterfowl stamp to their state hunting license. Non-residents were again required to purchase daily or seasonal passes at a much higher cost. The resolution continued, “Each resident of Marion County, desiring to hunt at the Marion County Lake, shall purchase a duck stamp at a cost of 25 cents for the season. Each non-resident of Marion County desiring to hunt at the marion county lake shall obtain a permit at a cost of 50 cents per day or he may obtain a season permit at a cost of $2.50.” News of the resolution was carried on the front page of the Record on September 25, 1941 (see Figure 25).
Figure 25. News of the waterfowl hunting resolution was carried on the front page of the Marion Record on September 25, 1941.
The 1941 waterfowl stamps were printed in black ink on white paper. They are rouletted and measure approximately 36 x 26 mm. The Sports License Records show that 1,000 stamps were printed and they were received by the county clerk on September 23, 1941. Jerry Mullikin picked up a half of the stamps on September 25. What is believed to be the first stamp sold is shown used on the resident license to hunt issued to Mullikin in Figure 26.
Figure 26. The 1941-42 resident license to hunt issued to J.E. Mullikin bears what is believed to be the first Marion County Waterfowl Stamp sold.
The records show that only 68 of the 1941 waterfowl stamps were sold. (See table IV for quantities of waterfowl stamps printed and sold). There are at least two significant reasons for this unexpected low total. One is that Marion County experienced a record-setting flood during the summer of 1941 (Van Meter, 1972). According to an excerpt from “Park and Lake Notes” appearing in the Record on December 18, 1941, “…There were not many ducks shot here during the season and there were not as many ducks that stopped here as last year. The abundance of water everywhere must have been responsible for that…” Another reason is that the bombing of Pearl Harbor occurred on December 7, and this event might have interrupted the hunting plans of many sportsmen towards the end of the season.
