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
A few of the articles extracted from a special 1929 Progress Edition of the Marion Daily Republican newspaper reflects the state of the city of Marion on its 90th year of existence as follows.
Marion the county seat of Williamson County is the oldest city in the county and as such is one of the most stable cities of the rich Southern Illinois or Egyptian coal fields where it is with its more than one and a half million dollars’ worth of public improvements the home city of 15,000 people. Continue reading
Raymond Reynolds was born on October 4, 1923 in Benton, Illinois to Austin Reynolds and Rachel West. He attended primary and secondary schools in Benton, graduating Benton High school in 1942. Continue reading
Law enforcement in Marion in the 1920’s, during the heyday of the bootleggers and their gangs, was a chancy job. Our city traffic policeman during those times was John H. Smothers. He and his wife, the former Edna Tippy, lived with their three children, Ralph, Paul and Zella, at 702 South Madison Street. Continue reading
Paul Junior Reese was born in Marion on July 8, 1922 to Ernest Gottlieb Reese and Reba Herring. Gottlieb was born in Illinois, the son of German immigrants Charles Frederick Reese and Engel Marie Sophie Dralle who came to this country when they were about 21 years of age. Continue reading
