John K. Miller, active Marion Lion, Shriner, Fair Board and Marion Park District member, was born on March 3, 1918, in Marion on S. Court Street to Ray Miller and Ruth Kilbreth. Miller received his education in Marion schools and also attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Continue reading
Category Archives: Organizations
In early 2014, the old Marion Armory building at Vicksburg and DeYoung is being remodeled for use as the new Marion Police Department. The armory itself was vacated many years ago, when the reserve unit built a new armory west of the city close to the county airport property. The following is a series of articles related to the old armory land and building. Continue reading
Ray Miller, teacher, principal, county officer, and a second generation Fair Board member, was born on April 26, 1891 in Williamson County to John Goodall Miller and Mary Ellen Krantz on a farm in Southern Township.
Nine years after Ray was born, according to the 1900 federal census, the family was living in Southern Precinct on the Miller family farm which they owned free of mortgage. Southern Township/Precinct starts just north of the Marion City Lake and included the villages of Hudgens and Chamness, extending south to Pulley’s Mill where Johnson County starts. Ray’s parents were farmers and were both in their mid-30’s. Children present in the home at the time were Ray aged 9 and daughter, Jessie M. aged 6. Ray’s mother indicated that she had birthed three children with two surviving indicating the loss of one child already in their marriage. Continue reading
Anyone who grew up in Marion and participated in sponsored youth activities between the late 1960’s and into the 2000’s has an extremely high probability of having encountered Leo Dingrando. Leo selflessly dedicated uncountable hours of his time to youth programs and was a well-loved figure in the Marion community for nearly four decades.
Leo Junior Dingrando was born on June 11, 1935 in Marion at 704 W. White Street to Leo Dingrando and Catherine Duvardo, the youngest of four sons. He grew up as a devout member of the St. Joseph Catholic Church. Continue reading
Oscar Schafale, the son of a blacksmith, was born September 11, 1897 in Cherry Valley, southwest of Marion. He moved with his parents, Mike Schafale and Mary Weilmuenster, to Marion when he was 6 years old. His father later started an International Harvester farm implement dealership in Marion.
He began working at the Schafale Brothers International Harvester farm implement dealership when he was 11 years old, working there until he was 42 years old.
Schafale attended Marion schools through the eighth grade. He took a short business course at Brown’s Business College in Marion, as well as attending bank courses at the University of Wisconsin for three summers. Continue reading