Peter J. Roth, a brother of Mayor Roth, became postmaster February 1, 1948, upon the resignation of J. J. McGuire because of ill health. He retired April 1, 1966 and was succeeded by Harold Bonar, who had been employed in the office since 1936. Mr. Bonar retired June 1972. Virgil Donze, who had been rural carrier on Route 2, became acting postmaster. His appointment was announced March 16, 1974. Mrs. Wilma Fever and Merlin Haas are clerks. Robert Faulk and Virgil Sleezer are postmen, and David Fever is a substitute. Galen McGuire is the carrier on Rural Route 1. Virgil Krug and James Williams, substitute carriers, serve Route 2.
Mrs. Mabel George, who had been postmistress at Panola and came to El Paso as clerk December 7, 1954, retired January 1, 1971, and with her husband moved to Mesa, Arizona. James Kauth, one of the first postmen, retired June 1, 1972. Mrs. Rosa Whisker, who was a clerk in the El Paso office, was transferred to Bloomington in April, 1973. The office at Kappa was closed October 1, 1958, and Kappa residents are served by an extended Route 1.
CITY HALL – The Central Illinois Roofing Co., received a contract June 7, 1973, for a new roof on the City Hall. Their bid was $1,370.
The first floor of the City Hall was remodeled during the winter of 1973-74 by Delbert Redenius. The room formerly used for fire department equipment was converted into a City Council room, with space for a desk for the water collector and another for the city Clerk. Prisoners must now be confined in the county jail at Eureka, so the former jail cell was converted to an office for the police department. The southeast room will be used for a committee room. The Redenius bid of $23,006.02 was accepted November 19, 1973, after some changes in the first plan had been approved by the Council. The project was financed primarily by sales tax funds. A new desk and chairs for the Council members will be installed later. For the present, the second floor will not be used.
STREETS – Maintenance of streets in the town has continued to be one of the major expenses. In 1955, a bond issue for $140,000 for that purpose was defeated by a vote of 304 to 172. It was designed to blacktop 114 blocks of graveled streets and an additional 12 blocks of brick pavement.
In 1957, the T. P. & W. Railroad closed five crossings over its right-of-way, in spite of El Paso's request to the Interstate Commerce Commission that they be kept open. R. A. Cullinan of Tremont resurfaced 53 blocks of auxiliary street in 1957 with a bituminous base, a seal coat and aggregate cover. The cost of 31 blocks was paid with $15,726.89 from motor fuel tax, and 22 blocks with $12,625.37 from general funds. On June 3, 1958, Cullinan & Sons bid of $13,213.28 for resurfacing 27 blocks was accepted. This included 3 blocks on Lincoln, 5 on Walnut, 3 on Sherman, 4 on Jefferson, 2 on Douglas. The same firm received a contract for $19,412 in July, 1959 for resurfacing another 22 blocks.
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