Earl Blankenship, Sr. was born March 28, 1894 in Marion, Illinois, the only son of Elijah and Cora (Chamness) Blankenship. He was raised on a farm with his sister, Nell, on West Main Street, the current site of the Veterans Administration Hospital. (Elijah Blankenship’s farm constituted 40 acres bounded on the north by West Main and the south by West Copeland, on the east by Fourth Street and on the West by Seventh Street.)

As a child he suffered from polio which resulted in a life-long physical disability. He graduated from Marion High School in 1916. He married Helen McKinney and sired four boys: Earl, Jr., Robert, Charles, and William. Although he was a very modest gentleman, he had a desire to succeed in the business world.

His initial business venture was a bicycle repair shop which he opened in his home in 1912. Then, in 1916, he opened a motorcycle dealership, and in 1917-18 he delivered mail south of Marion, where he met his wife. In 1920, he joined forces with a local banker, Eliab Aikman, and started a car dealership. It was this joint venture that led him to the automotive accessory business.

During the early 1920’s, along with his other business duties, he operated a grocery store, drove a bus to the coal mines, and picked up movie films in St. Louis and distributed them in Marion by motorcycle.

In 1926, E. Blankenship and Company was founded at 711-713 W. Main St. on the southeast corner of Court and Main streets in an old theater building in Marion. (I am told by Harry Boyd that the theater was called the Isis Movie Theater). It was the combination of skills from Mr. Blankenship’s keen business sense, Eliab Aikman’s financial knowledge, and a third business partner, Lloyd Allen, an accountant, that led to the success of E. Blankenship and Company.

In 1927, E. Blankenship’s was incorporated. During the Depression era, the store opened five other branches in Cairo, Harrisburg, Benton, West Frankfort, and Murphysboro.

In 1937, the original Marion store moved across the street to its new location at 704 W. Main St. on the northeast corner of Court and Main streets in a building which was built in the early 1920’s as a grocery warehouse for the H.W. Bracy Co. at the site of an old mill pond. After World War II, the depression ended, and the business thrived and several other branch stores were opened throughout southern Illinois and western Kentucky.   At one time there were sixteen stores in business in southern Illinois and Paducah, including two in Williamson County (Marion and Herrin).

Because of his success, Earl Blankenship was chosen as director of the Illinois branch of the Automotive Wholesalers’ Association. He was also honored by the Marion Chamber of Commerce as “one of Marion’s pioneer families.” Earl Blankenship died November 23, 1972. His sons and the son of Eliab Aikman continued to serve southern Illinois and Williamson County providing quality automotive parts and service in the proud tradition established by their fathers.

To the best of my knowledge, the Blankenship Auto Parts store in Marion closed in 2012.

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(Photos and data from 1989 Sesquicentennial History, WCHS, written by Pamela Blankenship and 1995 Marion History Edition of the Marion Daily Republican, additional data from Ancestry.com and Marion City directories)