My hometown’s commercial identity has been shaped by prominent families whose legacies continue to resonate. The Kistelmans gained fame in Muncie during the early 1900s for their successful wire business. The Ball family remains synonymous with their iconic fruit jars and enduring philanthropy. Another name that deserves equal recognition is Marsh. Ermal Marsh was a humble grocer whose vision and impact left an indelible mark on the community. Today, a reminder of his brief life can be found at Elm Ridge Cemetery.
Ermal Marsh was born to be a grocer. As a kid, he swept floors and drove a huckster wagon for his father’s general stores in Jay and Randolph Counties1. Later, he opened his first grocery, an IGA, in 1931 as a junior at Ball State Teachers College2. Ermal operated several Muncie stores early on, but his first supermarket, the Marsh “Foodliner,” debuted in 1947.
The initial supermarket Ermal Marsh opened -that first Foodliner- measured 5,600 square feet and stood at the southeast corner of West Jackson Street and South Martin Avenue near Ball State3. At first, he was certain he’d made a mistake by constructing a store so large. First-day sales receipts totaled a scant $7! Marsh doubted that people would buy as many groceries as he could stock, so he filled about half of the supermarket with cans of paint4.
Fortunately, business picked up and Marsh pulled the paint once people began arriving and buying food5. Business was booming! A second Marsh foodliner opened on East Main Street just outside of downtown Muncie in 19506. A third store in Muncie arrived at 2203 South Madison Street in 19527, and each store was bigger than its predecessor.
By 1957, Marsh Foodliners, Incorporated had grown dramatically. Believe it or not, it expanded to fifty-seven stores in four states after ten short years8! Unfortunately, Ermal Marsh wouldn’t see his company’s reach grow any further. His life was cut short on August 7, 1959, when a plane he was piloting en route to Chicago crashed near Logansport. Each member of the group -Marsh, 48; new company treasurer Spencer Deal, 52; and his young daughter Jean, 18- were killed9.
Everyone who had anything to do with Marsh Foodliners was struck with sadness. The Muncie Evening Press focused on Marsh’s character, writing that “he took much interest in community affairs…he was proud of his community, a community which gave him the support he so greatly needed when he was launching his business career10.”
The paper continued: “He was proud of the organization which he headed, proud of his associates who had shared many battles in the highly competitive field in which he operated…Through his efforts our community has been greatly helped. Through his efforts many of his associates and coworkers have been greatly helped11.” What a tribute. I could only wish to work for a boss like that!
Ermal’s younger brother Estel Marsh was promoted to president of Marsh Foodliners, Incorporated, four days after the accident. Estel modernized the company’s name and vowed to continue its expansion projects by announcing nine more supermarkets scheduled to open in the waning months of 195911. He led the company through a new period of growth before making way for Ermal’s son, Don. Don Marsh grew up in the industry and was named president of Marsh Supermarkets in 1968.
Marsh continued to grow. By the time it sold out to a private equity firm in 2006, it owned 69 supermarkets, 38 LoBill Foods groceries, eight O’Malia Food Markets, the two Arthur’s Fresh Markets, 154 Village Pantry convenience stores, and a range of other businesses like caterers and florists. The last Marsh supermarket closed in 2017, but the company’s legacy can still be found in and around Indiana, Ohio, and even Illinois.
I still miss the heyday of Marsh. Most of my family worked there, sure, but Marsh had a way of making its customers feel valued by offering a personal touch that’s increasingly lacking in today’s retail landscape. As big as its stores got, a trip to Marsh wasn’t just about groceries. It was about fostering a sense of connection and trust with an actual grocer! My favorite was a cashier who later worked at the YMCA Grandpa Pop took me to shoot hoops in.
As I remember it, peak Marsh in the nineties seemed genuinely invested in the well-being of its shoppers. For many, it was more than a place to buy food- it was somewhere to feel at home. All of that can be traced back to Ermal Marsh and the values he established when he founded the company more than eighty years ago. Today, his final resting place is in the heart of Elm Ridge Cemetery, just northeast of its mausoleum. The classical arcade that marks four Marsh graves is impossible to miss as you drive in and around.
The Marsh family plot is one of Elm Ridge’s most ornate memorials. “HE HAS ACHIEVED SUCCESS WHO HAS LIVED WELL, GAINED THE RESPECT OF INTELLIGENT MEN, AND LEFT THE WORLD BETTER THAN HE FOUND IT, WHOSE LIFE WAS AN INSPIRATION,” the header reads. It culminates in five Ionic columns that terminate in a horizontal pediment that marks the grave as the site of the Ermal W. Marsh Family.
Four flat headstones sit below the monument. One is Ermal Marsh’s, of course. The second belongs to his wife, Garnet Gibson Marsh, who died at ninety-six in 2007. Infant Phyllis Marsh lived for three days, while Julia Ann survived for four. I can’t forget modern marker of Reece Ana Marsh, daughter of David and Tonya, who only graced us for a day in January, 2018.
Ermal Marsh may no longer have a grocery chain bearing his name, but his legacy endures in ways that extend far beyond the aisles of a supermarket. At its best, Marsh reflected Ermal’s vision of community-focused retail. His dedication to quality, customer care, and innovation set a precedent for what a neighborhood grocery store could be well into an eighth decade. As I visited the Marsh gravesite, I couldn’t help but be thankful for the story Ermal and his family started. To all of the Marsh family buried there, thanks for all you did. We value you.
Sources Cited|
1 Wilmer Marsh, Grocer for Many Years, Is Dead (1960, December 19). The Muncie Star. p. 3.
2 Marsh Chain Has Small Rural Origin (1957, August 20). The Indianapolis News. p. 17.
3 Cheesman, M. (1995, August 4). ‘Part ofd the foundation’ The Muncie Star Press. p. 1.
4 (See footnote 3).
5 (see footnote 3).}
6 Innovations Mark Newest Foodliner (1950, July 25). The Muncie Star. P. 3.
7 Third Store Opened Here (1952, June 9). The Muncie Evening Press. p. 8.
8 Ermal W. Marsh (1959, August 8). The Muncie Evening Press. p. 4.
9 Ermal Marsh, 2 Others Reported Death Victims. The Muncie Evening Press. p. 1.
10 (See footnote 9).
11 Estel V. Marsh Elected President of Foodliners (1959, August 11). The Muncie Star.
I think the thing I miss most in the modern version of our country is that there are so few communities with a significant number of civic-minded business people who do the kinds of things Mr. Marsh did in his time.
I wholeheartedly agree. My grandpa worked for Ermal Marsh early on and knew him. He seemed to have been a really good egg, as was his younger brother Estel, who assumed the presidency of the company immediately after Ermal died. Something got lost in the intervening years.
John and I hung out the other day and he asked me how many marsh stores operated concurrently in Muncie at one time. In 2005, there were eight! Some nicer than others, but now we have food deserts not served by Pay-Less (Kroger), two ALDI, Ruler Foods (also Kroger) and the big box stores. Fresh Thyme, partially owned by Meijer, slots in somewhere as well.
I miss the days of an independent grocer. Fortunately, Madison and Henry Counties have one called Harvest Supermarket. The prices are higher and the stores are like IGA throwbacks, but that’s where I spend most of my food dollar these days. One is right on the drive home in Chesterfield.