Family Memories

The Family Memories project is an eclectic mixture of interviews that do not conveniently fit into one of our other project categories. There’s a bit of everything here, from a participant's view of the 1960s civil rights movement to the impact of Title IX legislation on girls' athletics, to missionaries sharing their experiences in Cameroon and Senegal, and much more. We plan to keep this project limited in scope, not because there is a shortage of interview candidates with stories worthy of inclusion, but because of resource constraints. Still, since the mission of the ALPL Oral History program is to collect and preserve Illinois rich history, we will strive to include the stories of people who have lived compelling and impactful lives.

Interviews

Bartges, Ellyn
Early days of Girls' & Women's Basketball

Bremer, Mary
Mary (Cagle) Horman Bremer shares her family's history through the Depression, WWII, and the good times

Brennan, Terry
Jazz musician and music teacher

Droegkamp, Janis
Peace Corps experiences throughout the world, and a Mother by Choice

Heinecke, Burnell
Burnell's early life in Freeburg, IL, and education

Johnson, Jim
General Manager and Superintendent of the Rail Golf Course in Springfield, Illinois

Johnson, LuAnn
Executive Director of Oak Ridge Cemetery - Lincoln's final resting place

Jones, Fernando
World-class Blues musician, educator, and songwriter

Meeks, Wendell
Growing up African-American in small-town southern Illinois

Robertson, Rozanne
A young woman's career as a personnel manager during 1950s thru 1980s

Rooney, Jack
Jack Rooney reflects on the Cherry Mine Disaster of 1909

Smith, Fred
Touring the nation's Presidential Libraries & Museums

Stites, Jackie
Volunteer at the Elijah Iles House, Governor's Executive Mansion, and the ALPLM

Thomas, Evelyn Brandt
Office manager and part-owner of Brandt Consolidated talks about the family business

Wheeler, Sandy
Executive Director of the State Farm Golf Classic for 27 years

Wrigley, Betty
A WW II Rosie the Riveter, and post-war wife and mother shares her life story