Scope and Contents Freda English, resident of rural Hamilton and Saline Counties in southern Illinois, discusses her life, education and employment as a teacher during the early 20th century. She recalls farm work, cooking homemade foods, family life, opportunities for women, social activities and entertainment, dating and wedding customs, chautauquas, rural schools, Broughton and McLeansboro High Schools, WWI and WWII homefront, and the Korean conflict. 1 tape, 90 mins., 32 pp. Interview by...

Scope and Contents Tom English, banker, husband of Freda English, recalls growing up on a farm in Hamilton and Saline Counties in southern Illinois: farm work, church and social activities in the rural community, and education. He also discusses his banking career, changes in banking practices, changing economic conditions, effects of the stock market crash and the Great Depression, industries, and starting a new bank in McLeansboro. Also discussed are prohibition, the government's influence on banking, and...

Scope and Contents Grant, an educator who worked primarily in Hamilton County, Illinois, discusses his years in the teaching profession: teaching and principal positions, service as county superintendent, consolidated schools, and service as the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. He discusses his own rural education, high school years, attending Southern Illinois Normal School (now SIUC), his family background, farm life, WWI, influenza epidemic of 1918, entertainment, holiday celebrations,...