Question Mark Town Roundup for the week of 8/28-9/3
Town Announcements
Books About Disappearance, Available at the Library
Many of us seem to be struggling with things that have vanished or have been lost, including some recent pages from an important town text. It is important to name that loss and to work to understand it. At the Question Mark Public Library, we believe that literature offers a window into understanding and have collected a series of books loss this month.
Please consider visiting the Question Mark Public Library’s Librarians Bookshelf to explore books regarding ordinary and extraordinary disappearances including Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay and Nox by Anne Carson.
Additionally, beginning tomorrow, we will also be offering a support group for those who have recently lost someone or something on Thursday evenings at 7pm. This will be a weekly event at the Library and I hope you will consider joining us.
Posted by Greta Twombley, Town Librarian on August 30, 2023
Winners from the Reginald Willey Commemorative Poetry Competition, 3rd Place
As a great poet once wrote: Remember remember the first of September...
And so it is that we find ourselves here on September First—with the brisk tendrils of winter beginning to encroach upon the warmth of summer—having to pick winners for our annual poetry contest. Admittedly, this is one of the more trivial of mayoral duties, however I approach all of them with the solemnity that they deserve.
When Ms. Twombley asked me to judge this year’s poetry contest, believe me, I had the greatest of expectations. But leave it to the citizens of this town to once again disappoint beyond all reason.
The 3rd place winner is definitely better than most of the rest, many of which were maudlin, unoriginal, and really much too long. Also very few of these rhymed for some reason I cannot understand. As I think most of us know, all of the world’s greatest poems rhyme. Thankfully, this one does. For the most part.
I now present the 3rd place poem by a writer only known as F (thanks to my fourth State of Question Mark Address, you already know my thoughts on individuals who refer to themselves solely by single letters):
the Verdant lawn and clean-swept street,
where Industry and nature meet.
Out the window, a lone white deer:
there is something missing here.
Lights at night and clocks unwound,
and through it all a distant sound.
the End itself is drawing near:
There is something missing here.
Posted by Mayor Elizabeth Zisk on September 1, 2023
Another missing statue, if you can believe it
It’s hard to believe, but the Remembrance statue, the enormous British soldier memorial statue from British Soldier Field, has gone missing. Along with the giant ice cream cone from Mr. Freeze-E and the Question Mark Foods sign, this is the third major landmark in as many months. Also that boy, Quentin Quinn.
The statue was at least twenty feet tall if it was an inch and carved entirely from granite. I seem to remember the installation involved a flatbed and a crane. Those of you who can remember all the way back then, you’ll recall that East Avenue was closed for three days because the flatbed got stuck on the turn. You’ll also remember that Bruno Ellis from Streets and Sanitation almost got crushed when the crane operator looked away for a split second. Something that big isn’t just stolen overnight.
Honestly, I hate to say I am feeling discouraged, but I am. I am going to be sixty-five in a few weeks and have mild angina and I cannot find my medication anywhere. I have, in my spare time—not during work hours—been looking at property in the Florida Keys. I have asked myself and God and others: How much is one officer of the law supposed to be able to take? There are bad days and then there are bad weeks and then there is this.
Again, if anyone knows anything please give us a ring. We’re open to all theories because this one here seems all but impossible.
Posted by Gus Holt, Question Mark Chief of Police on September 2, 2023
Read all our Town Announcements.
Community Notes
Happy Labor Day, one and all. I hope the hardworking people of Question Mark enjoy this day. As CEO of the town’s oldest business, we are proud to say we’ve been employing generations of Question Mark citizens for over two hundred years and counting.
Every morning it’s my great pleasure to be the first one inside the factory and to hear the whir of the presses as they turn out another box of Safe-T envelopes or Tyn-E envelopes.
And though, like many of you, I have been disturbed by the number of things that have disappeared from town recently, including the much-loved statue at British Soldier Field, which my great-uncle raised donations for, know that Willey Envelope is proud to call Question Mark home, in fair or foul weather, and with disappearances or not.
Also, please remember, Question Mark High School juniors and seniors are eligible to apply for our internship program, which begins in October, perfect for students who have no sense of their future.
Have a great day!
Bartholomew Willey
CEO, Willey Envelope and great-great-nephew of Reginald Willey, our town’s illustrious founder
Crime Reports
September 2
5:45 a.m. — East Avenue and 20th Street, statue missing. The British soldier statue from the British Soldier Field memorial reported missing. Officer T. Holland reported to scene.
August 31
4:22 p.m. — Lotus Avenue and 13th Street, keys missing. A 26-year-old Question Mark woman reported a set of car keys had gone missing. Officer R. Dublowski reported to scene.
August 28
6:45 a.m. — Green Avenue and 7th Street, keys missing. A 72-year-old Question Mark High School employee reported a set of locker keys had gone missing. Officer D. Holland reported to scene.
Please continue to distribute missing persons fliers to help notify the public about the disappearance of Quentin Quinn.
Read all our Crime Reports.
Upcoming Events
September 9, 2023
Question Mark Punctuation Carnival. Saturday and Sunday, 10am-10pm.
Town Square
September 15, 2023
Question Mark Car Donation and Towns Towing Contest. Free beer with car donation. 9am.
Towns Towing
See all our Upcoming Events
Did You Know?
The Paper Airplane Race, hosted by Willey Envelope Factory, has been a town tradition since 1895, one year after Labor Day was first established in the United States. To this day, there has been only one fatality.