Madison County Oral Histories (66 total)

These oral history interviews were conducted by interviewers associated with Madison Historical and touch on various topics in Madison County history. These topics vary by interviewee.

Thumbnail	Title	Description	Date	Date Added
	Ralph Korte Oral History	In this oral history interview, Ralph Korte, founder of Korte Construction in Highland, Illinois, discusses his life and business. Korte described growing up on a farm near Pierron, Illinois, and his early years of school. He describes life on the farm during the Great Depression and World War II. Korte then discusses his time in the Army during the Korean War and attending night school at SIUE. Next Korte describes the founding of Korte Construction and its early years of growth in Highland and throughout the Metro East.	October 22, 2018	December 19, 2018
	Rita Bonds Oral History Interview	Rita Bonds describes her experiences living in different states with her husband, who was in the Air Force. She also describes working for Owens-Illinois Glass Company in Alton, Illinois. She briefly discusses her work as secretary for the NAACP in Alton.	October 16, 2016	January 27, 2017
	Robert Coppersmith Oral History Interview	In this oral history interview, Edwardsville resident Robert Coppersmith describes his experience in the United States Marine Corps, particularly his time in boot camp and as a tank mechanic. He was interviewed by his daughter, Eryn Coppersmith.	July 21, 2019	November 4, 2019
	Roland Harris Oral History Interview	In this oral history interview, Roland Harris describes growing up in Alhambra and Highland in the 1930s. He then discusses his service during World War II. Next, Harris describes his funeral home business in Highland. The interview ends with a description of his work with the Highland Historical Society and the Highland News Leader newspaper.	October 15, 2016	December 7, 2016
	Ron Holland Oral History Interview	In this oral history interview, Ron Holland describes his role as bass player for the Granite City band Rising Sons, as well as the music culture and other local bands in St. Louis and Granite City. He also describes how the band changed after he was drafted into the Vietnam War in 1968.	September 7, 2018	September 14, 2018
	Sally Burgess Oral History Interview	In this oral history interview, Sally Burgess discusses her work as director and executive director of the Hope Clinic in Granite City, Illinois, which provides abortion care and counseling to women. She describes the various challenges of her work - both in providing abortion care to patients of the clinic and dealing with anti-abortion activists.	October 13, 2016	February 9, 2017
	Sam Stemm Oral History Interview	In this oral history interview, Sam Stemm discusses his career with the local Alton station WBGZ. He also describes growing up in Alton, going to SIUE as a mass communications major, national conservative radio stations, and the history of WBGZ.	June 12, 2018	September 12, 2018
	Stephanie Robbins Oral History Interview	In this oral history interview, Stephanie Robbins describes her experiences as an attorney in Madison County. She discusses her role as the first female assistant state's attorney in Madison County in the 1970s, particularly her success in helping to achieve rape convictions. She further talks about her experience as a special public defender, as well as the Democratic Party Machine in Madison County in the 70s and Madison County's reputation as a "judicial hellhole." She also briefly discusses her short time as a Spanish professor at SIUE in the early 70s and her experiences as a woman in law school.	January 30, 2018	May 7, 2018
	Tannya Sanchez Oral History Interview	In this oral history interview, Ecuadorian immigrant Tannya Sanchez discusses moving to Madison County to learn English and become a Spanish teacher. She describes growing up in Ecuador, how life in Highland compares to Eduador, and education in both Ecuador and the United States. She also gives advice to other immigrants to the United States.	November 11, 2017	June 26, 2018
	Thom Swain Oral History Interview	In this oral history, Thom Swain discusses his ownership of the Fat Cats nightclub and music venue in Edwardsville during the 1980s. He also describes Madison County's music and entertainment scene since the 1980s. Finally, he describes his management of several bands in the area.	October 14, 2016	December 1, 2016