October 3, 1960 was a very big day for a lot of people from Marion, Illinois. The Democratic candidate for President of the United States was coming to town. Schools were dismissed at 2:30 to allow time for everyone on the parade route to catch a glimpse of “Camelot”.

Over 3,500 people jammed the Public Square to see and hear Kennedy. In this picture from the Marion Daily Republican, Judge John Clayton introduced the candidate to the waiting crowd for the message delivered on the public square which was two hours behind schedule.

His assassination on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas stands as a permanent bookmark in time to pretty much every citizen who lived through this era of history.

See also, YouTube video of the motorcade arriving on the square and Kennedy speaking (no audio).

(Data and photo from Marion Daily Republican, edited by Sam Lattuca on 01/25/2013)