John Preston Marsh was born August 24, 1917 in International Falls, Koochiching, Minnesota, the oldest son of Vere Preston Marsh and Genevieve Ann DeNoble. John loved to hunt and fish in Minnesota until he had a hunting accident at the age of 16 in October 1933, injuring his right hand.
John became a member of the Civilian Conservation Corps (C.C.C.) with Company 3708 in Ely, Minnesota from 1936 to 1937. Each camp had a commanding officer, normally a lieutenant or colonel in the army, a mess hall, laundry, and tool house. In general, the camps also had a reaction hall and canteen where the men could buy candy and tobacco. Modular barracks made it easy to add to a camp or tear it down. In 1942, when the Corps disappeared, some of the housing was reused in local POW camps or the determent camps of Japanese-Americans on the West Coast. Each CCC "boy" would receive $30.00 each month ($25.00 would go to his wife or family and he kept the rest).
John Preston Marsh married Dorothy Mae Lange on June 22, 1946 in Nashwauk, Itasca, Minnesota. They first lived several miles north of Grand Rapids on Highway 38. From 1947 to 1961 they lived in Splithand Township, Grand Rapids, Itasca, Minnesota. In the summer of 1961 the family moved to Fort Pierce, St. Lucie, Florida. John and Dorothy retired to Mena, Polk, Arkansas in 1983.
After World War II, John worked for S & S Auto Parts in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, and for Vaughn & Wright Auto Parts in Fort Pierce, Florida. In 1966 he left that auto parts business and joined his wife Dorothy in running the Happyland Pet Shop. John Marsh passed away at his home on April 1, 2000 in Mena, Polk, Arkansas. They had five children.
His body was cremated and his ashes are currently with his daughter in Louisville, Kentucky.
My Sources are from my database, newspapers, birth, marriage and death certificates.
Copyright © 2009 by Gus J. Marsh
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