Marshall Public Library (Marshall, IL)

Aces softball team in 1940. They are shown in front of the Strand movie theater on the southeast corner of 5th and Locust Streets in Marshall. We are looking for more information about the name of the team. In the Marshall Public Library newspaper archives the team is listed as the Endicott Aces. But we have not been able to find any other articles in the archives directly connecting Mr. Endicott with the Strand Theater or the Aces team. There are, however, two mentions of him giving theater passes (no particular theater named) as prizes to a group of girls who had raised money for the blind at a flower show in 1938.

When we received this photograph there were names of the players that were in the picture on the back. We are hoping that some of the descendants of these players can help us connect the name of the team to the Strand Theater or provide any other information about the team.

The players’ names as printed are:

Front (l to r) Emer [sic] Haugh, Don Able, Everett English, Leon Cooper, Raymond (Bud) Abel, Bill Bubeck

Back (l to r) Charles Macke, Charles (Jr.) Haugh, Leroy (Shorty) Garner [sic], Lauf Forsythe, Dean English, Don Smitley, and Jim Stepp.

We believe that the two misspelled names should be Eamer Haugh and Shorty Gardner.

This photo, from an album donated by Joann Brosman Strange, shows the Stone Arch Bridge on West Archer in1985.
The bridge was constructed in 1837 along the National Road under the supervision of Alexander McGregor. No mortar was used in the construction, and this is one of the last stone arch bridges from that road still in use.
From the "Tour of Historic Marshall, Illinois" booklet - "Archer Avenue is part of the original Cumberland Road, later known as National Road. The road was commissioned in 1806 to go from Cumberland, Maryland to the Mississippi River. The completion of the road through Clark County in the early 1930s drew many settlers to the area and was a contributing factor in the move of the Clark County seat from Darwin to Marshall in 1838. The road was paved with bricks in the 1920s and in 1926 it became a part of US Hwy 40 which stretched from coast to coast."

South Side School – Early in Marshall’s history school classes were taught in several small school buildings in town including the King School in the southwest part of Marshall and the Little Brick School in the south east section. These schools proved inadequate for the growing population, and in 1887 a two story building with four classrooms was erected in the south part of town on the block between Walnut and Elm and S. 6th and 8th Streets. This school served students in grades 1 through 8 living south of Archer Avenue in Marshall. Four more rooms were added on the east side of the school by Joe Forbeck in 1908. More room was needed, and in 1956 Walnut Street was closed between 6th Street, Michigan Avenue, and 8th Street, and a one story addition containing a cafeteria/gymnasium and 13 classrooms was erected on the north side of the old building with a connecting hallway. In 1977 the old part of the South Side School building was torn down. Since then other additions and many improvements have been made to the South School building which now houses all of Marshall’s Kindergarten through 2nd grade classes.
Current school address is 805 S. 6th St.