The Mystifying Murder in Marion, Ohio

About the Book

In 1919, the first trans-Atlantic flight in world history occurred, the Volstead Act was passed (later on repealed), the Treaty of Versailles was signed, and Babe Ruth set a record for most consecutive scoreless innings pitched in a world series, a record that lasted until 1961.

In Marion, Ohio, Mrs. Rose Belle Scranton was found dead at a coal pile, west of the Erie roundhouse on January 29, 1919. Up to this day, the murder case is still unsolved despite the wealth of evidence and information gathered and presented. Phil Reid extricates the 1919 Marion murder case almost a century later in The Mystifying Murder in Marion, Ohio. Reid comes up with an amplified and detailed work in The Mystifying Murder in Marion, Ohio, spanning a brief history of a little town to newspaper articles covering the Scranton murder. Several angles were look into based on the clues gathered and recorded witness accounts, including robbery and domestic trouble. The series of events following the murder, like a portent of worst things to come, heated things up in Marion: racial discord, exodus of the colored laborers out of town, and multiple arrests, including that of Mrs. Scranton’s husband. Authorities are baffled-- just when they are about to decipher the mystery behind the crime, a witness or evidence pops out contrary to the supposedly solved case.

About the Author

Phil graduated from Harding High School in 1959. After attending OSUM for a quarter, he enlisted in the U.S. Army for 3 years, most of which were spent in Arlington, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. After separation from the Army in December, 1962, Phil joined the Marion City Fire Department in February, 1963, serving 29 years in the Department and spent the last 10 years in the Department as Fire Chief. After Phil retired from the Fire Service, he was appointed to be Marion’s Service Director, a position he held for about 6 months, leaving when the administration changed. During his career in the fire department, he re-enrolled at OSUM in 1974, received an Associate of Arts in 1980. Then, after retiring in 1991, he returned to OSUM in January, 1992. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Science in Social Studies Education in March of 1994. Phil taught social studies at Marion Catholic then from 1994 to 2007, and coached the Marion Catholic baseball team for 10 years during that time. He ran for and was elected President of Marion City Council in 2003, and served two terms. His career in the Fire Service piqued his interest in Marion Fire Department history, and in Marion’s history in general. Phil has many memories of his career in the fi re service, some pleasant, and some not so pleasant. One of the accomplishments Phil is most proud of is that during his tenure as Fire Chief, Marion’s Fire Department progressed from strictly an emergency medical technician staffed provider to a fully functional paramedic service, which it remains today. In addition, Phil became an instructor for the State of Ohio, Trade and Industrial Education Service, teaching the Emergency Medical Service providers in central Ohio for about 10 years. Today Phil is sort of retired, as he hosts a radio show on Saturday mornings at 9 AM called “Sentimental Journey”, broadcast on WDCM, 97.5 FM. He also writes a Sunday column for the Marion Star called appropriately, "Sentimental Journey".