In this September 1981 photo, 80-year-old John Miller of Walnut Grove walked by a closed and locked City Hall building on his way to the general store.
Walnut Grove City Hall was closed because of cash shortages caused by a tight city budget and federal job-creation funding cuts that supplied money to pay city workers and police.
In August of 1981, voters had the opportunity to fund civic positions with money supplied by an increase in water rates, but rejected the measure.
“Some of the citizens didn’t feel like they needed City Hall open or police protection,” said Mayor Bill Ferguson. The city police department was down to one full-time officer and a reserve officer after other staff had left for law enforcement jobs in other towns with better
pay.
This image is part of a much larger collection of historically rich photographs from the News-Leader’s photo archive. Each week, the Springfield-Greene County Library will tap into this vast collection and present an interesting image “from the darkroom" and share its history. This image is presented in partnership between the Springfield-Greene County Library District and the Springfield News-Leader. For more historical images of the Ozarks, visit: thelibrary.org/fromthedarkroom.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: From the Darkroom recalls 1981 closure of Walnut Grove City Hall
