The Fish and Game Stamps of Marion County, Kansas
Stamps After 1941
The outbreak of the war did not affect the sale of county fishing stamps, however. The total of 1,065 1941-42 stamps exceeded the total sold for either of the two previous years (Sports License Records). The stamps were printed in black ink on yellow-orange paper. They are rouletted and measure approximately 37 X 27 mm. Stamps sold to Jerry and Verona Mullikin are shown in Figure 27. A photo of Verona is shown in Figure 28.
Figure 27. 1941-42 fishing stamps were used on licenses issued to Verona Mullikin (left) and Jerry (right). Verona temporarily held the position of Park and Lake Supervisor in 1956.
Figure 28. Verona Mullikin standing in front of the lake with a catch of fish, circa 1940s.
For many years it was thought that a 1942 waterfowl stamp might not have been issued. Although the county duck stamps had been mentioned in an “On the Sports Front” column that appeared during the fall, no examples had been recorded and the Sports License Records did not indicate that any 1942 waterfowl stamps had been received by the County Clerk. When Jerry Mullikin’s licenses were found the issue was settled. Mullikin’s 1942 resident license to hunt bears a copy of the 1941 county waterfowl stamp that has been rubber-stamped with the 1942 year date and initialed “J. E. M.” (see Figures 29 and 29a). A closer inspection of the Sports License Records revealed that Mullikin had indeed been issued two books of waterfowl stamps in 1942. Apparently someone made the decision to put some of the 1941 remainders to use. Only 69 waterfowl stamps were sold in 1942, all by Mullikin from his office at the lake.
Figure 29. Remainders of the 1941 waterfowl stamps were used in 1942. They were rubber stamped with the new year date and initialed by J. E. Mullikin.
Figure 29a. Enlargement clearly showing the rubber-stamped 1942 overprint
Sales of the 1942-43 fishing stamps once again approached 1,000. The stamps were printed in black ink on white paper. They are rouletted and measure approximately 38 x 31 mm (see Figure 30). In 1943 waterfowl stamps with a new design were printed and these were inscribed “RESIDENT DUCK STAMP.” Sales for the 1943 duck stamp totaled only 60 and a trend was clearly developing in county stamp sales see Figure 31).
Figure 30. 1942-43 fishing stamp used on license issued to J. E. Mullikin.
Figure 31. Sales records kept by J.E. Mullikin for the year 1943. This is a glimpse of his original record book, kept by him at his office out at the lake. The enlarged lower right portion shows he received five books of “Duck Stamp Residents”. As of 11/26/43 he had sold all the stamps from book 1 (50 stamps x 25 cents = $12.50). By the end of the season he had sold additional ten stamps from book 2 for a total of 60. The balance of the stamps from book 2 as well as books 3,4 and 5 were returned to the county clerk’s office.
If Tables III and IV are compared, it is evident that despite an increase in waterfowl stamp sales following the end of the war, duck hunting on Marion County Lake simply never caught on with county residents the way fishing did. Duck stamp sales peaked in the mid 1950s and then began to steadily decline, falling each successive year into the 1960s. The Sports License Records show that duck stamp sales reached an all time high in 1956, immediately following a period when fishing stamp sales had reached an all time low.
According to John Waner, who succeeded Verona Mullikin at this time, the reason for both of these extremes was a severe drought which caused the lake to run half dry. Warner recalls planting wheat along the north half of the dry lake bed during the fall of 1956. While adversely affecting fishing conditions, the drought made Marion County Lake a popular place for duck hunting as everything else was dry. In 1955 and 1956 duck stamp sales averaged just over 20 per cent of fishing stamp sales and over the 31 year period for which sales figures are available just less than 9 per cent (see Table V).
