Business's in 1958

Marion, Once a busy place with several industries providing many jobs for our local county.  The growth of the city and county looked promising for the future.  Things have changed a lot in the past 59 years.

April 24, 1958

• Moore Business Forms, Inc. which started operations in Marion in November, 1950 is Crittenden County's leading industry.  The firm employs about 125 people, 55 percent of them women.  The local plant's principal product is what is known in the trade as "salesbooks."  This actually covers all kinds of bound printed forms as well as those used in selling.  Moore Corporation, Ltd. of Canada, the parent company, is the world's largest producer of business forms.
• Mi-Marker makes stamping kits widely used by men and women in all branches of the armed services.  The little plastic boxes containing the kits and marked "Marion, Ky." are familiar sights on post exchanges around the world.  The kits basically contain an alphabet of rubber letters and numbers, a wood block for mounting the letters on, a stamp and a pad of ink.  It employs about 20 people.
• Watson Produce, in business here for 10 years, deals in poultry and eggs, furs and hides, and walnuts.  It buys throughout West Kentucky and southern Illinois and makes deliveries throughout the Midwest.
• Henry & Henry Monuments on Sturgis Road in Marion produces fine quality monuments and has been operating in the same family since the 1870's.  
• Winn & Tobin Milling Company mills flour, meal and feed.  it serves customers in Crittenden, Livingston, Webster, Caldwell and Lyon Counties.  It has been in business since June 1949.
• Marion Silica Company on the edge of Marion is now on a stand-by basis.  Formerly locally owned it was bought in 1956 by Continental Uranium Company, a subsidiary of the Helene Curtis cosmetic firm.  Its property includes a large quantity of some of the finest quality sand available.
• Alexander Stone Company, the large quarry on U. S. 60 north of Marion, employs about 35 men during is peak season and has an annual payroll of $90,000.  It produces agricultural lime, concrete stone, all sizes of road stone, rip rap and ready mixed concrete, its latest line.

Henry and Henry and  is the only one of the above that is still in business today.  Alexander Stone is also still in operation, although at a different location and was bought by Rogers and Company.