1974, The Murder of 13 Year Old Frances Buckner

John Bilyew 1974 Buckner MurderOn June 1, 1974, 13 year old Frances Buckner, a resident of Creal Springs, was spending time in Marion with her father, Robert Buckner, who lived on the Public Square. They decided to walk down E. Main Street to Small’s Market at 1005 E. Main to buy milk. Frances outpaced her father who had health issues and was last seen about a half a block from Small’s. She wasn’t seen again until five nights later.

Her nude body was found lying in the street in the 500 block of E. Marion Street around 11 p.m. under a street light. Someone had thrown a rock through a local resident’s window to alert them of her presence. Continue reading

Chase, Harold L. 1916-2006

Harold Chase 1916-2006Harold L. Chase was born March 23, 1916 in Marion, Illinois to Walter Chase & Altha (Ozment) Muir.

He married Geneva Todd Spence on August 21, 1943 in O’Fallon, Illinois and together they shared over 62 years of marriage. She preceded him in death on January 5, 2006.

On July 30, 1957, Harold and Geneva Chase purchased the historic old home located at 601 E. Thorn Street from Pearl Parks, widow of F.E. Parks, and lived in the home for four decades. Continue reading

1974, Special Election Adds 440 Acres To Marion

Addition of 440 acres to the City of Marion was voted in a special election held in the affected area north of the city Tuesday. Six residents of the area voted for annexation and two voted against it.

The annexed area includes the land north of the city cemeteries to the county road south of Cedar Grove, which is bounded on the west by an extension of North Russell Street and on the east by the C. & E. I. Railroad. It includes the Marion Drive-In Theatre, an auto salvage yard, Tom’s Restaurant and five or six retail businesses in addition to the Central Illinois Public Service Company’s gas storage plant and the county acreage on which the highway garage is located on the east side of Route 37. Continue reading