National attention was attracted to Southern Illinois industrial development by an article in the October 26th, 1946, issue of Business Week entitled, ”Design for Living, Illinois Style”.
Accompanied by pictures of the Illinois Ordnance Plant, the article traced the history of Southern Illinois and outlined its plans for the future as follows: Continue reading
The development of long range bombers by the Russians in the mid 1930’s put the U.S. government War Department on alert to its defense weaknesses and caused a scramble to relocate key bases and arsenal stockpiles from vulnerable coastal positions to more secure inland positions. This put Marion into the light of possibility for the manufacture and storage of a planned Chemical Warfare Arsenal. The project was planned to cost $21,000,000 and occupy 80,000,000 acres of land for the purposes of building, testing and storing chemical warfare agents. Continue reading
Robert and David Sneddon opened Sneddon’s Confectionery at 1201 West Main Street in Marion in 1940. The two brothers came to America with their father James Sneddon in 1920, leaving their home in King’s Seat just across the Firth or Forth from Edinburgh and just west of St. Andrews and the North Sea. Continue reading
The Marion Chamber of Commerce, listing a few of its 1937 accomplishments and achievements. Continue reading
Alphonso J. Jennings (a.k.a. Al) was born November 25, 1863 in Virginia. Al, wrote a book in 1913 called “Beating Back” and gave some early family history. He had a penchant for spinning yarns, so we have no way of knowing how much of his book is true. He said his father, John D.F. Jennings, was a schoolmaster, doctor, Methodist minister, lawyer and editor. Continue reading
