1974, The Cold Case Murder of Dr. Donald Ripley

On December 4, 1974, Dr. Ripley’s chiropractic office at 1825 W. Main Street was full of patients awaiting treatment. At 9:30, an hour after the office should have opened, an unanswered telephone prompted one of the patients to answer it. Upon opening a hallway door he discovered the body of Dr. Donald Ripley. Ripley had been shot seven times with a .45 caliber hand gun. Most of the efforts to uncover his murderer centered around a mysterious, well-dressed black man, but his killer was never found and remains one of Marion’s cold cases to this day.  Continue reading

1976, Former Marion High School Athletic Greats

This list of former Marion High School athletic greats was published in the Bi-Centennial Edition of the Daily Republican in 1976. It was created from the memories of the public at large and is in no way encyclopedic or complete, but serves as a reminder that Marion High has nurtured many great athletes in its past.   Continue reading

1974, Early Coal Miner’s Wages and Striking

1910 Coal Mine StrikeThis article, written in 1974 by Homer Butler, notates typical wages received by local coal miners and the effects of striking for higher wages on the miners and their families from just after the turn of the century to the depression.

“My father came home from the mines one day in the spring of 1910 wearing a pair of new elk hide shoes, and bearing the news that the miners were going out on strike. The shoes had cost $3 which was more than a day’s pay for a miner. They were the cheapest shoes available, not much good for rough work, but they would do for wear while hunting work to tide the family over during the strike which would last nobody knew how long. Continue reading

1966 Industrial Park Development

1966 Industrial Park development areaThe following Glances at Life article written by Homer Butler in 1974 summarizes the beginnings of the city’s first industrial park development west of North Carbon in 1966, which made further development of the city’s west side beyond the Interstate possible.

From a vantage point on Interstate Route 57 where it traverses Marion, one can look east and west, and view a wide area of development that has taken place during the last eight years. Continue reading

Parmley, Dr. Joseph G. 1876-1954, Publisher of “Williamson County Physician”

Dr. Joseph Green Parmley was born on a farm near Golconda on October 24, 1876, the son of Rev. George W. Parmley and Mary Daniel.

He attended Creal Springs Academy and Southern Illinois University before teaching school in Marion for four years. In 1904, he entered the University of Louisville, School of Medicine and graduated in 1908. Continue reading