David Richard Merrell was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 13, 1944 to Dr. Hosmer T. Merrell and Mary Jane Mentz. David’s father had a doctor’s office located at 115 W. Union and the family lived at 311 S. Fourth Street in Marion. Continue reading
Category Archives: All Marion Content
To Film “Story of Marion” Soon
Production Firm From Texas To Make Feature Film in Marion
Erman Alred, manager of the Orpheum Theater, announced that he has made arrangements with Mel Barker, motion picture director and producer, to produce, “The Marion Story”, a 30 minute film depicting the history and assets of Marion. Continue reading
Pork was free for a few minutes on the Public Square of Marion, Illinois, as George G. Champ, Marion farmer, kept his promise to give away 18 little pigs which he said he could no longer feed because of the government’s corn freeze order. One police chief and 17 youngsters, each with a pig in a sack, were the lucky ones in a crowd of 500 to get a shoat (a young, weaned pig) apiece. Continue reading
When 48 year old, divorcee and mother of two, Virginia Barbaro, failed to show up for work at Tony’s Steak House on Friday, August 17th, 1973, her friends went looking for her. She was discovered to have been murdered at some time in the early hours of that day in her apartment located over Boatright’s Electronics on the public square. Suspicion shifted quickly to an ex-boyfriend, 43 year old, disabled coal miner Boyd Moore, who lived in Christopher. Moore’s body was found that same afternoon not far from his home, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Located near his body was a suicide note confessing to the death of Mrs. Barbaro. Continue reading
Of the many notable characters who have lived in Marion, Anderson P. Corder, could certainly be claimed as one of them. Notes taken from the Nannie Gray Parks files at the Williamson County Historical Society says of him, “Many stories are told about Anderson P. Corder; John Gray and Carey E. Wiley knew him well. They said he was a very tall man and dressed well. He wore a “Stove Pipe” hat, a Prince Albert coat with a fancy vest draped with a large gold watch chain. He was considered a wit and smart in a way. Continue reading