Mark Bruno Hayes (1889-1959) was born in Bloomington, Illinois and earned a pharmacy certificate from the Illinois School of Pharmacy in Chicago.
He owned and operated Hayes Drug Store for 40 years (1913-1953). In 1916, Mark Hayes married Margaret Veronica Kalahar (18901974).
Margaret Kalahar Hayes served the community in various ways, including involvement in the YWCA and the development of St. Joseph’s Hospital. Mark Hayes served on the Bloomington City Council as Republican alderman of the 3rd ward from 1923-1949, with the exception of one term, and served as Mayor of Bloomington from 1937-1949.
He was involved in many city-development projects, including Lake Bloomington and the City Hall and Sewer Relief projects. Mark Hayes was also active in the Municipal League. During his service as mayor, the city experienced the Great Depression, World War II, and post-war readjustment. Mark and Margaret Hayes had one daughter, Margaret Hayes Theis.
This collection contains personal belongings and materials relating to the Hayes Drug store business, but for the most part entails municipal materials from Mark Hayes’s time as both alderman and mayor, including mayoral campaign materials, correspondence with city departments, city development projects, and newspaper clippings of community events. It also details Margaret Kalahar Hayes’s involvement in the community and, more specifically, with women’s clubs and the St. Joseph’s Hospital Auxiliary. The collection also includes materials relating to World War I and World War II. Most of these materials are newspaper clips, typed correspondence, speeches, and reports.