Aikman discusses his experiences in Macoupin and Montgomery Counties, Illinois; childhood and farm life, one room school education, homemade foods and remedies, his family's log cabin in Hornsby, children's games, hunting, family recreation, and Christmas celebrations. He recalls his first automobile and early transportation, building the Illinois Central Railroad, paving Route 66 and local roads, and electric trolleys. He also recalls businesses in Raymond, Illinois, traveling entertainers and speakers in Litchfield, and the towns of Honey Bend, Morrisonville, Farmersville, and Waggoner. He also discusses farming: hazards, pests, crops, livestock, soil types, field tiling, fences, fertilizers, weather, planting and harvesting, cooperation between neighbors, and superstitions. He recalls employment as a railroad telegraph operator and ticket man and the impact of the railroad on the community, hazards, train wrecks, mail delivery, traffic to the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, and experiences with railroad people and passengers.

25 tapes, 1710 min., 388 pp. Interview by Horace Q. Waggoner, 1975 OPEN See collateral file: interviewers notes, newspaper clipping, and photos of the town of Waggoner and farm implements