Great River Road, 2016

Browse Items (76 total)

  • Tags: Granite City
Thumbnail Title Description Date Date Added
William (Bill) Haine Oral History Interview In this oral history interview, State Senator William (Bill) Haine discusses his childhood in Alton, Illinois, his career in the law, and his time as an Illinois state senator. May 4, 2018 July 27, 2018
Vicky Siers Oral History Interview This oral history interview with Vicky Siers was part of oral histories conducted in the fall 2001 semester of History 447: Oral History.

Vicky Siers has lived most of her life in Lincoln Place and was born to Hungarian immigrant parents in the 1940s. In this interview, she describes her childhood, family history, the pride people from Lincoln Place have in their community and its diversity, and special community organizations such as the community center at Lincoln Place.
November 5, 2001 March 17, 2018
Venka Ambuehl Oral History Interview This oral history interview with Venka Ambuehl was part of oral histories conducted in the fall 2001 semester of History 447: Oral History.

Born to Bulgarian immigrant parents in 1925, Venka Ambuehl spent her whole life in Lincoln Place. In this interview, she talks about growing up in this diverse community and how much it shaped the way she sees the world. From events at the local community center to an array of traditions this multicultural community used to celebrate Christmas, she talks in-depth about her younger years at Lincoln Place.
November 15, 2001 February 17, 2018
Vartan Kassabian Oral History Interview This oral history interview with Vartan Kassabian was part of oral histories conducted in the fall 2001 semester of History 447: Oral History.

In this interview, Father Kassabian talks about his calling to Christ, the role of the Church, the resilience of the Armenian people, the Armenian Genocide, and Armenian history.
October 29, 2001 March 14, 2018
Tomea Kirchoff Oral History Interview This oral history interview with Tomea Kirchoff was part of oral histories conducted in the fall 2001 semester of History 447: Oral History.

Tomea Loman Kirchoff speaks about her childhood, particularly her education, learning English, and her father’s employment at American Steel in Granite City. She discusses the Community Center as well as the Bulgarian-Macedonian Church located in Lincoln Place, as well as other aspects of Macedonian culture that she had experience with. Mrs. Kirchoff additionally speaks to World War II and contributions that women in Lincoln Place made to the war effort.
October 29, 2001 March 14, 2018
Theresa and Ronald Petras Oral History Interview This oral history interview with Theresa and Ronald Petras was part of oral histories conducted in the fall 2001 semester of History 447: Oral History.

She recalled several childhood memories of life in Lincoln Place (e.g., taking a bath in a barrel, changing the way she wore her long underwear on the way to school), as well as some of the business people who traveled around the community (e.g., the rag man, the vegetable and fruit vendor, and the Iceman) and regular visits to her cousins' house. She also described several holiday traditions, particularly Easter.
October 25, 2001 March 17, 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
Sandor Toth Oral History Interview This oral history interview with Sandor Toth was part of oral histories conducted in the fall 2001 semester of History 447: Oral History.

Sandor (Alexander) Toth is the son of Hungarian immigrants and has been a lifelong resident of the Lincoln Place neighborhood. In this interview, he talks about his childhood at Lincoln Place, the diversity of the community, and his career at the Commonwealth Steel Mill.
October 27, 2001 March 18, 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
Ruben Mendoza Oral History Interview This oral history interview with Ruben Mendoza was part of oral histories conducted in the fall 2001 semester of History 447: Oral History.

In this oral history interview, Ruben Mendoza discusses his career as a soccer player and coach. He describes growing up in Lincoln Place and moving to Mexico at the age of eight in the late 1930s, where he discovered soccer. After moving back to Lincoln Place, he played soccer for St. Louis teams and played for the United States in the 1958 World Cup and in the 1952, '56, and '60 Olympics. He also discusses how he expanded soccer programs in Lincoln Place, Granite City, and the larger Metro East region as a coach starting in the 1960s. This interview had no transcript in the original archive. It was transcribed by Madison Historical staff.

There were two interviews conducted with Ruben Mendoza as part of the course. The other interview was conducted by Lisa Smithe.
October 30, 2001 September 2, 2018