From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Aug. 20, 1975:

The recent trend of decorated fireplugs had hit a snag in a Lawrence neighborhood. City officials said that the plug at Kasold and Scioto, which had been painted to look like a “jaunty, smiling Revolutionary soldier” by unidentified residents, would have to be repainted. City utilities director Erv Hodges said the city could allow decoration of plugs, provided the work was done by volunteers in designated areas and by using uniform designs. The practice of painting designs on plugs was growing in popularity, but it was causing issues in some cities, including Lawrence, where plugs were color-coded to tell firefighters how much water pressure they could expect from any given outlet. For example, yellow and green plugs were used on high-pressure water lines, while red and white plugs were on low-pressure lines. The unnamed Kasold Drive artists asserted their plug looked better this way and that it was part of the bicentennial spirit. The Journal-World reported today that they had received only one phone call about the plug at Kasold and Scioto, from a man who wanted to know how he, too, could get his neighborhood’s fireplug decorated.