Yearly Archives: 2012
A mass law and order meeting was held on the public square in Marion on August 20, 1923, with more than fifteen hundred voices “raised in protest against vice and corruption in Williamson County.” A rousing cheer went up from the crowd when one speaker, the Reverend P.R. Glotfelty, Methodist minister from Herrin, promised the county would be cleansed of iniquity, even if they had to do it themselves. Glotfelty, was likely a member of the Klan, as were quite a few ministers at this time period.
Glotfelty was adamantly opposed to two things—Catholicism and violation of Prohibition laws—and maintained that intentions of Herrin Catholics to build a new church were evil because most of the members of that parish were “Italian bootleggers”. He vowed publicly that the Catholic Church would never be built. The church was built anyway, of course, and was completed in 1926.
(Photos courtesy of the Williamson County Historical Society)
County Court House Group ca 1953
This photo was found at the Williamson County Historical Society and is a photo of the county clerk’s staff that appeared in the Marion Daily Republican in January of 1954. The photo was taken by Carl Sorgen who was doing photography for the Marion Daily Republican.
Shown left to right are: County Clerk Harry R. Rodd, Deputy Clerks C.M. Edwards, James L. Kilbreth, Wiley Storme, Miss Hallie Richey, Miss Aileen Sims, Mrs. Dorothea Fry, Mrs. Cassie Gibbs and Miss Lois Jane Wilson. Mrs. Ruby Barger, another clerk in the office, was not present when the picture was made.
(Photo courtesy of the Williamson County Historical Society, photography by Carl Sorgen)
Marion Evening Post Staff 1920’s
This staff photo was found at the Wiliamson County Historical Society. No date was on the photo but appears to date by concensus to the 1920’s when the paper was active.
Samuel Casey was the editor/publisher of this paper which he formed with James Felts in 1902. Both had earlier holdings in the Egyptian Press as well.
Samuel surrendered his interest in the Egyptian Press in 1907 when he suffered an illness, but continued to edit and publish the Marion Evening Post. Casey died in 1939.
Shown left to right are: Samuel K. Casey, Billie Wilson, E.R. Jones, Leo Lackey, Leon Felts, Laura Belle Skaggs, Elizabeth Hartwell, Minto Bradley, S. Perryman and Howard Oliver. If you have knowledge of any individuals in the photo let us know
(Photo courtesy of the Williamson County Historical Society)