Ruth Upshaw, the Bird Lady of Marion, Canary Cottage

Ruth UpshawMany schoolchildren as well as adults will remember Ruth Upshaw as the Bird Lady of Marion. Katherine Kaeser gave her the name.

Katherine asked Mrs. Upshaw to join the Business and Professional Women’s Club of Marion, which she did. She was a member for 26 years, and every time Katherine introduced her, she called her “our bird lady.” Continue reading

Cooksey, J.M. 1868-1962, Cooksey Grocery

The building that housed Cooksey Grocery, located at 1801 W. Main Street, was originally purchased from Henry Brown by Joel Minsey Cooksey in 1911. Cooksey held the building for one year and sold it to M.C. Lawrence. Cooksey then repurchased the building in 1926 and operated it as a grocery by himself and then his son Joel Nicholas Cooksey until 1970 when the building and lot was purchased by Derby Refining Co. and served as a Derby service station. Continue reading