Paul Rametta Shot Down By Luther Frey, Marion Daily Republican, Dec. 8, 1950
A gun duel which blazed briefly across North Court Street early Thursday evening (Dec. 7) left one man dead as his slayer calmly telephoned police. The slain man was Paul Rametta, Marion truck operator.
Held in the county jail Friday pending a coroner’s investigation of the shooting was Luther Frey, 31, of Marion, ex-convict. Continue reading
Anyone who has lived a reasonable amount of time will likely agree that there are times when life doesn’t always appear fair. Worse yet, there are times when it appears just downright cruel. Such may be the case for the Jordan family who lost three of their four sons, two to murder and one to an accident. Continue reading
The Hon. James D. Pulley, owned one of the first businesses in Marion and was apparently a strong Southern sympathizer. In 1841, Pulley built “Our House”, a saloon, on the west side of the Public Square. His attempts in 1861 to promote efforts to secede from the Union early on in the Civil War landed him in “hot water” on more than one occasion, including charges of treason. To later save face, Pulley was involved with R.M. Hundley in the raising of the unsuccessful 128th Illinois Infantry.
This post is composed of two articles, the first notes the dismissal of treason charges by a Grand Jury in June 1864. The second article notes an incident in which Pulley takes exception to his name being disparaged and confronts the source, resulting in a shootout in a Marion alley the next month. Continue reading
Fatal Affray at a Church
Marion, Ill., July 17, 1897 – A shooting affray (fight) occurred at Freedom Church last night, in which Isham J. Price lost his life. For several months a feud existed between Price and the Hamptons. The men met at the church and without words the fight began. Sylvester and Earnest Hampton, 22 and 17 years of age, shot Price several times, killing him. The Hamptons were arrested.
(Chicago Daily Tribune, Sunday July 18, 1897, Page 13)
Bunice Tyner was a Marion businessman who owned a handful of taverns in Marion and the surrounding area from 1941 up to his murder in 1960. Tyner also owned Wimpey’s Café at 106 S. Court Street, but the business was actually operated by his wife, Louina. The amusements in local taverns in those days, popular since WWII, were pinball and jukebox machines. Also, slot machines, which were technically illegal, but often tolerated under the right conditions. Continue reading