Robert Donald Bradley was born August 4, 1924, in Effingham, Illinois, to Esther and Arnold Bradley. While in school, he took the last name of his stepfather, Earl Burnett, and used his own middle name Donald and was known as Don Burnett.
After his high school graduation, he joined the US Navy and served on the tanker ship US Platt in the South Pacific until World War II ended. Continue reading
The cause of a Saturday fire that heavily damaged the Jackson & Grey Insurance Company building at 413 N. Market Street in Marion remains under investigation by the state fire marshal’s office and Marion Fire Department.
No injuries were reported from the blaze, which took about 2 1/2 hours to put out. Marion firefighters were assisted by other local departments. Continue reading
The handwriting must have been on the wall for U.S. involvement in World War II prior to 1939 when war broke out in Europe. News articles from 1938 noted our vulnerability in placing our air corps bases and armament stockpiles in coastal locations. In those times, Southern Illinois had 61 percent of the population on welfare, one of the highest in the nation and more people in this end of the state were out of work than those working. Continue reading
Illinois Central Railroad Seeks to sell Depot which was Pride and Joy in 1916 Continue reading
The J. V. Walker & Sons Clothing Company, one of the oldest clothing firms in Southern Illinois, at one time, with stores in Carterville, Herrin, Christopher, Johnston City, Marion, Benton, and five other locations was the result of a steady growth of a business founded by J. V. Walker. Continue reading
