These pictures were taken by Thomas Wimberly in 1958-59 of an unknown politician who came to town. I thought these pictures caught the essence of  the square in that era complete with Cecil Jenkins getting into one of the shots.

Cecil Jenkins was an African-American citizen of Marion who could always be found in the vicinity of the square in the 1950’s and 1960’s. He did lots of small jobs and errands for merchants around the square and was a constant presence.

Cecil was found murdered in a strip pit east of Energy in May 1970. It remains unsolved to this day.

If anyone recognizes any of the other individuals let me know.

For more information on the Jenkins murder, click here.

(Photos courtesy of Thomas Wimberly)