From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Oct. 8, 1973:

Douglas County deputy sheriffs were caught off guard by a prankster in the Eudora area this week. According to an article in today’s Journal-World, a deputy on routine patrol around 3:15 this morning saw what he thought was a man wearing welder’s protective clothing and headgear standing in a salvage yard in Eudora. The deputy made repeated attempts to get the man’s attention by talking to him and shining a flashlight in his direction. Upon receiving no response from the figure, the deputy grew alarmed and feared that the man “had returned to the yard to work and perhaps had suffered a heart attack or become frozen through an electrical shock.” After calling for help, he was asked by another deputy whether there was any straw sticking from the man’s left leg. This turned out to be the case; the second deputy said he had noticed a straw man in that location “on several occasions.”