June 3, 1921
MARION
Marion merchants as I first knew them: J. N. Woods, Jack, was merchandising on the corner where the Farmers Bank building now stands. He conducted a general merchandise and had the confidence of the public as few men attain and therefore did a large business for that time. Calvin Elder and Charlie Stinson were the accom[m]odating salesmen. Later on Charlie Stinson and brother went to Illinois and embarked in the business of merchandising and were quite successful.
Aunt Mary and Uncle Jack, as they were familiarly called were very kind and attentive to children. A child got as much or more kindly attention than grown ups around them. It was common for Aunt Mary to have mothers and their children to go to her room and rest or warm and get their dinner.
Cub Bigham sold goods on the corner in the Masonic building. An incident occurred one summer day I was in town. We youngsters always said town and never Marion, for Marion was the only town to us.
On this occasion James W. Bigham was at this store and said "Cub got a gun?" Cub went back and brought out an old musket. Jim then called for a cap for the gun and Cub got a big water proof cap and Jim put it on the tube and started across the street toward the Douglas Hotel[.] Miss Carrie Douglas, only daughter of N. B. Douglas, was in her room, and in front of the door stood a large locus[t] tree. Jim slipped behind the tree then to the door, cocked the gun and held it by the door casing and bursted the cap, the explosion of which sounded like a gun shot. Of course Miss Carrie screamed, but Jim laughed heartily. Miss Carrie still lives and afterward became the wife of Harry Carnahan, and mother of Douglas Carnahan, the young aggressive merchant on the corner of Main and Salem street.
Another prominent place of business was the Drug Store. It was here I got Almanacs, Ayers, Scovells[,] Hostetters[,] etc. I wanted them for the funny stories they contained; Father and Mother wanted them to tell when the moon changed, in order to know about weather conditions for the almanacs knew; then to tell when to lay fence worm, or put on a roof or kill hogs. The name of the druggist was on all the almanacs, Warren Wager, said to be a very safe and painstaking druggist. As a boy I appreciated the fact that he took pains to supply me with this, then popular literature.
Later Tom Cameron came here and married the step-daughter of Uncle Jack Woods, Miss Mary, and put in a stock of dry goods and built up a large trade. About that time John Caldwell put in a stock of dry goods and for many years did a thriving business. Almasine Lemon clerked for him for quite a while, later on married Miss Annie Dean, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Matt Dean.
Source: Crittenden Press. (Marion, Ky.) 1919-Current, June 3, 1921, Edition 1, Image 2 - Chronicling America - The Library of Congress.
[My comments are in brackets.]
