Fall 2001 Granite City Oral History Interviews (43 total)

These oral histories were conducted for the History 447: Approaches to Oral History course taught by Anne Valk in the fall 2001 semester at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The majority of the interviews are with residents of Granite City, many of them residents of the Lincoln Place immigrant community.

Thumbnail	Title	Description	Date	Date Added
	Eleanor Todoroff Oral History Interview	This oral history interview with Eleanor Todoroff was part of oral histories conducted in the fall 2001 semester of History 447: Oral History. Eleanor Todoroff was born and raised in the Lincoln Place community. In this interview, she talks about her father's emigration from Armenia and involvement in World War I, the role of the Macedonian Church in Lincoln Place, and the “Macedonian Bulgarian Ladies Aid Society.	December 5, 2001	March 18, 2018
	Marvin Moehle Oral History Interview	This oral history interview with Marvin Moehle was part of oral histories conducted in the fall 2001 semester of History 447: Oral History. Marvin Moehle was born and raised in Lincoln Place. In this interview, he talks about his family business, the diversity of the Lincoln Place community, and his Macedonian heritage. There is no transcript with this interview but there is a biographical summary.	December 1, 2001	September 2, 2018
	Dena Lovacheff Oral History Interview	This oral history interview with Dena Lovacheff was part of oral histories conducted in the fall 2001 semester of History 447: Oral History. Though Dena Lovacheff did not grow up in Lincoln Place, she moved there in 1951 when she married her husband, William Lovacheff, and resided there until 1988. In this interview, she describes her childhood, the family-run business called Louie’s Market, and living with her in-laws in the Lincon Place community.	November 29, 2001	March 15, 2018
	Norma Mendoza Oral History Interview	This oral history interview with Norma Mendoza was part of oral histories conducted in the fall 2001 semester of History 447: Oral History. Norma Mendoza moved to Lincoln Place after she got married in 1960 and lived there until 1966. In this interview, she describes her experience working with the Mexican Honorary Commission, the diversity of the community, food and entertainment within the community, arranged marriages, different aspects of her career, and the local army depot.	November 28, 2001	March 15, 2018
	Annette Simpkins Oral History Interview	This oral history interview with Annette Simpkins was part of oral histories conducted in the fall 2001 semester of History 447: Oral History. Annette Simpkins was born to Armenian immigrant parents and lived her whole life in Lincoln Place. In this interview, she describes her childhood, her parent's emigration from Armenia before the genocide, her father's job at American Steel, her employment at the Army Depot, the diversity of the Lincoln Place community, and her time at the local theater.	November 26, 2001	March 18, 2018
	Andrew Hagopian Oral History Interview	This oral history interview with Andrew Hagopian was part of oral histories conducted in the fall 2001 semester of History 447: Oral History. Andrew Hagopian was born in 1923 to immigrant parents from Armenia. In this interview, he talks about his family history, his experience on the 1940 Granite City basketball state champion team, the diversity of the Lincon Place community, and his activism in lobbying the United States government to recognize the Armenian Genocide.	November 21, 2001	March 4, 2018
	Nevart Hagopian Oral History Interview	This oral history interview with Nevart Hagopian was part of oral histories conducted in the fall 2001 semester of History 447: Oral History. Nevart Hagopian is a survivor of the Armenian genocide who left Armenia with her mother at the age of 12 in 1920 and migrated to the Lincoln Place neighborhood of Granite City. In the interview, she discusses the Armenian community and culture in Lincoln Place. Hagopian primarily speaks in Armenian in the interview, with Vartan Kassabian serving as a translator. Father Kassabian was a priest for St. Gregory Armenian Church in Granite City. Note: The original archive copies of the interview transcript and biographical summary had grading marks and corrections on them. We converted the transcript and biographical summary to editable text and made the corrections to remove grading marks.	November 18, 2001	May 5, 2020
	Arthur Bedian Oral History Interview	This oral history interview with Arthur Bedian was part of oral histories conducted in the fall 2001 semester of History 447: Oral History. Author Bedian lived his whole life in Lincoln Place and was born to an immigrant father from Armenia. In this interview, he talks about his father’s experience immigrating through Ellis Island, growing up in Lincoln Place, the community center, and his time and service in the Armenian Orthodox Church. There was no audio recording of this interview in the original archive, but there is a transcript and biographical summary.	November 18, 2001	September 2, 2018
	Carmen Cook Oral History Interview	This oral history interview with Carmen Cook was part of oral histories conducted in the fall 2001 semester of History 447: Oral History. Carmen Cook was born at Lincoln Place in 1943, where she spent most of her life, to Mexican immigrant parents. In this interview, she talks about her childhood and life, the ethnic diversity of the community, the Cinco de Mayo celebrations, the legacy of Ruben Mendoza (the Olympic soccer player), and the scholarship that was set-up in the name of Joe Gonzalez.	November 18, 2001	February 20, 2018
	Ione Gorham Oral History Interview	This oral history interview with Ione Gorham was part of oral histories conducted in the fall 2001 semester of History 447: Oral History.	November 17, 2001	June 13, 2018