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Old home houses artifacts in cellar
Updated Tuesday, Feb. 10
Jeremy Gaston | Staff Writer
MELVERN—Carla Kitselman, Lyndon, is used to dealing in antiques
– the rare and unique – but what was found Thursday
in the basement of an investment property at 421 NW Maple St., in
Melvern, was a bit out of the ordinary.
Plumber Eric Sage, Osage City, was among the crew working on remodeling
the bathroom at the residence Thursday.
“He took out the bathroom floor, which was wet and ruined,”
Kitselman said. “That's when we found the basement, which
wasn't really a basement, just an area about five or six feet deep.”
Inside the small cellar, Sage found a collection of medical items
typical to an early 20th-century physician, along with the remains
of an adult male human skull.
“Doctors’ tools, scalpels and rusty scissors were lying
right there with it,” Kitselman said.
The find was reported to the Osage County Sheriff's Office, who
began an investigation into the origin of the skull.
“We had to leave once they got there,” Kitselman said.
“They treated it as a crime scene and closed the house until
12:30 p.m. the next day.”
A press release issued Friday afternoon by Osage County Sheriff
Laurie Dunn confirmed the finding and nature of the skull. The release
also stated that medical tools were found in the vicinity of the
skull, and that no other human remains were found at the site.
The sheriff's office kept the home sealed until receiving a response
from the Shawnee County Coroner's Office. The sheriff would not
release details concerning the age, gender or condition of the skull.
According to Kitselman, the articulated skull was likely owned by
Dr. George B. Kierulff and used for medical purposes. He and his
wife, Minnie, owned the home from 1917 to 1965. George practiced
out of an office in downtown Melvern for several years and died
Nov. 14, 1952. He was 75. Minnie died July 19, 1971.
Kierulff's medical supplies lay beneath the floor of the home over
the last 35 years, while several other homeowners lived there.
Kitselman recently purchased the home and has more than one tie
to the skull’s original owner, who had given medical treatment
to both of Kitselman's parents, Bill and Caroline Criqui, as children.
“He sewed my dad's tongue together after he cut it chasing
my mom around in third grade,” Kitselman said.
There are no laws against owning or keeping a found human skull
in Kansas, however, Kitselman was unsure if or when the skull would
be returned to her.
“It's definitely an antique,” she said, “but it's
not anything I want to keep.” |
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