Madison County Oral Histories (60 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
	Kathy Piercy Oral History Interview	In this interview, Kathy Piercy discusses her work with the Curtain's Up Theater Company, a community theater company in Madison County. She also discusses her job doing corporate productions for an accounting firm.	October 8, 2016	March 10, 2017
	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
	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
	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
	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
	Dave Knoche Oral History Interview	In this oral history interview, Dave Knoche describes growing up in the Alton and Godfrey area in the 1980s and 90s as well as some of his education and experience in Montana and California. He also describes working for ADT Security, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and Dow Screw Products in the Metro East. He then discusses joining his father's business, HGH Products, which manufactures steel and graphite parts for the glass bottle industry.	October 17, 2016	January 30, 2017
	Bryan Mathis Oral History Interview	In this oral history interview, Bryan Mathis describes his childhood in Venice, Illinois, and his experiences as an African-American man growing up in the area during the era of desegregation. He describes the various forms of bigotry and racism he's faced in the communities of Venice, Madison, Granite City, and St. Louis, as well as his feeling about the communities of Venice and Granite City today. He also discusses his work as a paperboy in Venice, what it was like growing up in the Venice housing projects, getting cut from the Venice High School Basketball team the year they won the State Championship (1975), and going to SIUE and the Mississippi River Festival in the late 70s.	October 18, 2016	December 1, 2016
	Phil Smith Oral History Interview	In this oral history interview, Phil Smith describes growing up in Venice, Illinois, in the 1950s-1970s. He discusses organized crime and gambling in the city, the Democratic Party, and the police. He also describes his career as an educator and changes in the schools over time, including changes that accompanied racial integration in Venice and Madison. Finally, Smith describes his work with the Venice Historical Society and efforts to preserve the city's history and traditions.	October 18, 2016	February 3, 2017
	Danny Gray Oral History Interview	In this oral history interview, Danny Gray describes his experiences working for Granite City Steel from 1978 to the time of the interview. He describes how steel production has changed in his 38 years working for the company, including the rise of automation and, in his view, the weakening of unions. He also discusses growing up in the St. Louis region and living in Madison County.	October 19, 2016	February 9, 2017
	Derek Mathis Oral History Interview	In this interview, Derek Mathis describes his youth in Venice, Illinois, including his experiences with racism in the era of desegregation. He also discusses changes to Venice and the town of Madison in his adulthood.	October 26, 2016	March 10, 2017