Martin’s father, Henry Robertson, came to this part of Illinois, about 1818, returned to Tennessee, then came back in 1823, and settled three and a half miles northwest of Marion, filing his first land claim in 1836, where he farmed successfully until his death in 1845. Henry bought one of the original lots in Marion when the land for the town went up for sale. Continue reading
Sale of Roland Building Stirs Memories of Theater’s Heyday
The news that the Roland Theater building had been sold recently stirred a lot of memories in the minds of the older Marion citizens, for that was the place the fellows took their girls and where pa took ma and ma took the kids.
C.F. Roland built the theater and named it for himself in 1906. Activities, however, really started one day when a man, his wife and small son came to town to play an engagement in the old Opera House. Continue reading
Leonard R. Rodd was born May 17, 1895, in Marion to the late G.H. Rodd and Melvina Beams. Rodd founded Rodd Realty Company and operated the business in partnership with his son, Dee L. Rodd, at 818 W. Main Street for four decades. Continue reading
Paving Machine Invented in Marion Will Revolutionize the Industry
W.F. “Frankie” Merritt, 428 S. Future Street, Marion, has invented a machine which may revolutionize paving operations in the United States. Merritt, who is chief mechanic for the Regenhardt Construction Company of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, has developed a paving machine which requires no forms, but deposits the fresh concrete directly on the new road, saving approximately ten per cent in the cost of operation, and reducing the number of workers. With a traveling sub-grade machine, the results are practically the same as paving with forms. Continue reading