ALBION NEWS AGENCY

Albion has had a variety of newspapers that could be delivered to your doorstep through the years. In the early 20th century, some of those newspapers were delivered via the Albion News Agency. The Agency was owned and operated by Alfred J. Marble (1886-1962) at 300 ½ S. Superior St., and was one of Albion’s "basement" businesses. It was located on the southwest corner of S. Superior St. and W. Porter St., with the steps going down from the outside of the building on W. Porter St. Marble had purchased the Daines Brothers (Leo and Ralph) News Agency at that location in the early 1920s.

The Albion News Agency handled out-of-town newspapers which competed against our local Albion Evening Recorder. Its main paper delivery was the Jackson Citizen-Patriot. Other titles delivered included: The Detroit Free Press, The Detroit Times, The Detroit News, and the Battle Creek Enquirer News.

Alfred Marble was married to Alma Zick (1886-1975) in 1918. She assisted him in his business. The couple lived at 810 N. Clinton St., then later at 806 S. Superior St. Marble retired in 1954 and sold his business to Oscar D’Haem, and it was renamed the D’Haem News Agency. After each of their deaths, the Marbles were interred in the Grass Lake West Cemetery in Jackson County. D’Haem continued at this location for several years before moving it to 210 ½ E. Cass St. in the early 1960s. The steps to the Porter St. basement entrance were covered over but not filled in as part of the 1964 downtown sidewalk project. They are still there today however, as the 2017 Superior St. brick street reconstruction project revealed, along with adjacent business "tunnels" on W. Porter St. under the sidewalk.

From our Historical Notebook this week we present a photograph of Alfred Marble’s paperboys at their Duck Lake picnic, circa 1927. Front row left to right: Frederic Bruce, Richard Wellington, Richard Young, Harry Bracy, Henry Bracy. Top row: Victor Doty, William Warson, Donald Nutt, Herbert Henderson. How many of our readers delivered newspapers in Albion?

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