Press Release              Event Date:  March 5, 2018

 For further information contact Mary Chrastil, 260-982-0672 nmhistory@cinergymetro.net

Different Date for Monthly Historical Society Program

March Program Features Harold Marks, Jr.

 Every month, the North Manchester Historical Society presents a variety of free public programs with a history theme.  In March, the program will be held one week before the usual second Monday to accommodate a special Timbercrest anniversary gathering.

 On Monday, March 5, the Historical Society is very pleased to welcome Harold Marks, Jr., well-known retired pharmacist, who will present Tales of Main Street from the 1950s and 1960s.  The program will be held in the Assembly Room at Timbercrest Retirement Center, 2201 East Street, at 6:30 p.m.  It is open to the public at no cost and will be enjoyable for audiences of all ages. 

 Harold Marks, Jr., and his father, Harold Marks, Sr., both registered pharmacists, operated the Marks Drug Store at 204 E. Main Street, current site of Journey Brazilian Jiu Jitsu martial arts studio.  The store had been owned by the family since 1925, when Harold, Sr., joined the firm owned by his father, James B. Marks.  Harold, Jr. graduated from Purdue University in Pharmacy and joined his father in the business in April 1955.  The store closed in 1986, and Marks retired from CVS in 1998.

 Harold, Jr., was an active and friendly presence downtown for decades and knew scores of North Manchester residents.  He has been a member for the Kiwanis, Masonic Lodge, American Legion and the Methodist Church.  A veteran of the Korean War, Marks is scheduled to go on an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. this April.

 A talented story teller, Marks’s stories about business and life on Main Street give a fascinating picture of life in America in the middle of the last century, and in North Manchester in particular.

Harold Marks, Jr. (left) and Harold Marks, Sr., assist a customer at the Marks Drug Store on Main Street c. 1970.