The Forgottonia Project » Podcast

ON THIS EPISODE We continue our series about the social & cultural history of witchcraft based on the book “Witchcraft in Illinois” by folklorist Michael Kleen (check out Michael’s bio below). Please note, this series definitely does not intend to endorse a belief in magic or the occult. Our primary purpose is to simply apply … Continue reading "Witchcraft in Forgottonia – Episode 3: African American Folk Magic in Illinois, 1701-1800"

ON THIS EPISODE We continue our series about the social & cultural history of witchcraft based on the book "Witchcraft in Illinois" by folklorist Michael Kleen (check out Michael's bio below). Please note, this series definitely does not intend to endorse a belief in magic or the occult. Our primary purpose is to simply apply … Continue reading "Witchcraft in Forgottonia – Episode 2: The Influence of England & Colonial America"

ON THIS EPISODE On this edition of the Forgottonia Project, we’re sharing our 1st episode in a series on the social & cultural history of witchcraft in Illinois. Please note, this series definitely does not intend to endorse a belief in magic or the occult. Our primary purpose is to simply apply some historical skills … Continue reading "Witchcraft in Forgottonia – Episode 1: How do we know what we know?"

ON THIS EPISODE This Dime Novel Desperados MINI-POD profiles a Hollywood Western & primary sources that Dr. Hallwas used to write the book. We recommend first listening to the episode this MINI-POD accompanies: Chapter 3: The Maxwells in McDonough County HOLLYWOOD WESTERN “Rio Bravo” (1959) starring John Wayne, Dean Martin, &  Ricky Nelson QUESTIONS TO … Continue reading "DND MINI-POD – Chapter 3: Hollywood Westerns & Primary Sources"

ON THIS EPISODE We continue our examination of the book “Dime Novel Desperados: The Notorious Maxwell Brothers” by Dr. John Hallwas. This episode provides an overview of Chapter 3 – “The Maxwells in McDonough County.” Our last chapter profiled a difficult childhood for the boys in nearby Fulton County. While we remain in Western IL, … Continue reading "Dime Novel Desperados – Chapter 3: The Maxwells in McDonough County"

ON THIS EPISODE We continue our examination of the book “Dime Novel Desperados: The Notorious Maxwell Brothers” by Dr. John Hallwas. This episode provides an overview of Chapter 2 – “The Maxwells in Troubled Fulton County.” Shout out to CHS student Andrew Christian for helping with this episode. The MINI-POD for this episode (which is … Continue reading "Dime Novel Desperados – Chapter 2: The Maxwells in Troubled Fulton County"

ON THIS EPISODE This Dime Novel Desperados MINI-POD profiles a Hollywood Western & primary source that Dr. Hallwas used to write the book. We recommend first listening to the episode this MINI-POD accompanies: Chapter 1: The Maxwell Family Moves West  CHS student Andrew Christian interviews musician & local historian Chris Vallillo HOLLYWOOD WESTERN “Open Range” (2003) … Continue reading "DND MINI-POD – Chapter 1: Hollywood Westerns & Primary Sources, with musician & local historian Chris Vallillo"

ON THIS EPISODE We continue our examination of the book “Dime Novel Desperados: The Notorious Maxwell Brothers” by Dr. John Hallwas. This episode provides an overview of Chapter 1 - "The Maxwell Family Moves West." Shout out to CHS students Garret Fawcett & Andrew Christian for helping with this episode. Be sure to check out … Continue reading "Dime Novel Desperados – Chapter 1: The Maxwell Family Moves West"

DND MINI-POD - Introduction: Hollywood Westerns & Primary Sources ON THIS EPISODE This Dime Novel Desperados MINI-POD profiles a Hollywood Western & primary source that Dr. Hallwas used to write the book. We recommend first listening to the episode this MINI-POD accompanies: Ep 0 – Welcome to the World of the Maxwell Brothers: An Introduction to … Continue reading "DND MINI-POD – Introduction: Hollywood Westerns & Primary Sources"

ON THIS EPISODE We're pleased to begin a multi-part examination of one of the greatest history books about our Forgottonia region; the western (or anti-western) book called  “Dime Novel Desperados: The Notorious Maxwell Brothers” by Dr. John Hallwas. Shout out to CHS students Audrey Cozart & Aaron Zimmerman for helping with this episode. Be sure … Continue reading "Dime Novel Desperados – Introduction – Welcome to the World of the Maxwell Brothers: An Introduction to DND w/author Dr. John Halwas "

On this episode of the Forgottonia Project, we summarize what the 2020 census reveals about Forgottonia. This episode serves as the podcast edition of our previous post analyzing census data: Forgottonia Profile: The 2020 Census. CHS students helped create a mega document that summarizes important demographic, social, and economic patterns that persist throughout Forgottonia (check … Continue reading "S4, E5 – Forgottonia and the 2020 Census: What the Numbers Reveal about Population, Education, Poverty, Race, and more"

The purpose of this mini pod is to briefly discuss some upcoming plans & projects we’re hoping to do with this classroom podcast & webpage in 2022. #1 - NEW STRUCTURE: This year the Forgottonia Project will include... MINI PODS - Ranging from a number of topics, quick announcements, brief interviews documenting Forgottonia history, music, … Continue reading "S4, E4 – Mini-Pod: Upcoming Plans for the Forgottonia Project in 2022"

On this edition of the Forgottonia Podcast, our students at Cuba H.S. completed a book study of the graphic novel “Hypercapitalism” and then had the privilege of interviewing the author of this book Tim Kasser. Our students ask Tim... What hypercapitalism is & why he wanted to write a graphic novel about it How spending … Continue reading "S4, E3 – Hypercapitalism: What is it and Why Rural Americans Should be Concerned, With author and psychologist Tim Kasser"

In this episode, we’re thrilled to share our conversation with Marynel Corton, the executive director of the New Philadelphia Museum. New Philadelphia is one of the most important historical communities in the U.S. and it’s located right here in rural Forgottonia!   Although rural, western IL is sometimes known for being…well FORGOTTEN… there are a … Continue reading "S4, E2 – The New Philadelphia Story, with Marynel Corton"

Have you ever wondered who lived a long time ago in the very place you’re living right now? Did you know there are incredible ancient cities that existed right here in IL? And that people have been trying to find out for years what happened to these cities. On this episode of the Forgottonia Project, … Continue reading "S4, E1 – The Mystery of Cahokia Mounds with Archaeologist Bill Iseminger"

In this episode, Cuba High School's Ashley Howerter shares her conversation with Bob Schnarr, the chief director of the Cass-Putnam rescue squad. While many first responder teams across Forgottonia struggle to fund and staff programs, the majority of the Cass-Putnam rescue squad is made up of high school students. This is the first program of its kind in the state!

We are pleased to share our latest podcast interview with local musician, Chris Vallillo.  Chris is a singer/songwriter & folk musician who makes the people & places of “unmetropolitan” America come to life in song.  Chris is also a fantastic local historian as many of his songs reflect the unique rural Midwestern culture that we've … Continue reading "S3, E5 – The Music of Forgottonia: How Local Musician Chris Vallillo Captures the Sounds of the Rural Midwest"

One this episode of the Forgottonia Project we are pleased to share a very informative conversation we had recently with Western Illinois University Sociology Instructor, Alyssa Hall Anderson. In this interview, Alyssa discusses her latest blog post for the Forgottonia Project entitled "Sociology and Self-Care." She provides insights regarding sociological thinking as a form of self-care and shares her experience and interests with the subject of sociology.

On this edition of the Forgottonia podcast we’re sharing a conversation about mental health in rural America with our friend Lyndsey Larson, the manager of a local yoga studio in Canton, IL called “The Breathing Tree.” Lyndsey is also a native and recent returnee to Canton, IL where she lives with her husband and their surprise triplets!

On this edition of the Forgottonia Project, we try to deepen our understanding about the rural opioid epidemic that has plagued many of our communities in Forgottonia. To help us do this, we talked to local activist Sue Tisdale.

On this edition of the Forgottonia Project, we had the privilege of speaking with Mr. Matt Meacham, program manager and director of statewide engagement at the IL Humanities. We asked Matt what the humanities are and how they can help bridge our rural-urban divide. We hope you enjoy our conversation

On this episode of the Forgottonia Project, we conclude our conversation with Marion Cornelius about the incredible history of Camp Ellis, a massive WW2 Army camp that was located right here in rural Forgottonia.

On this episode of the Forgottonia Project, we are pleased to share our conversation with Marion Cornelius about the incredible history of Camp Ellis; a massive WW2 Army camp located in rural Forgottonia.

According to a study at Columbia University funded by the National Institute of Health, 4.5% of all deaths in the U.S. can be attributed to poverty (Link to research). And this was before the covid-19 outbreak! What is the cause of poverty? What does poverty look like in rural, western Illinois? What can we do to combat poverty? To help respond to these questions, we turned to Lt. Sarah B. Eddy of the Canton, IL Salvation Army.

Cuba High School senior Kaylann Beekman was recently selected to represent Illinois at the Rural Youth Assembly Summit in McAllen, Texas (*Note: The Summit was originally scheduled for April 2-5, but will be postponed for a later date). She is one of just 50 young adults, ages 16-24, selected across the nation to serve as a delegate. The Summit brings young people together to explore unique challenges facing rural youth, and identify creative solutions to address them.

On this episode, Chris Merrett from the Illinois Institute of Rural Affairs responds to questions formed from students at Cuba High School in Cuba, IL. These questions reflect a range of challenges facing small towns, not only in Cuba, but throughout Forgottonia. The essential questions our students asked Chris include the following:

We are beyond pleased to share this interview with our friend Chris Merrett from the IL Institute for Rural Affairs. Chris is the Director of the Institute, which is located on the campus of Western IL University in Macomb, IL. The institute oversees research, outreach, teaching, and policy development that is comprised of 20 community development faculty and professionals. He serves on the Governor’s Rural Affairs Council and is the Chairperson of Rural Partners, which has raised over $6 million in external grant funding to support community and economic development outreach and research. Chris has researched and edited books on the topics of cooperatives and community development, and has published a range of articles on topics such as value-added agriculture, rural land use, social justice, and rural community and economic development.

On this episode were fortunate to speak with some local entrepreneurs who not only started a new business in Macomb, IL, but they are kindred spirits because they named it “Forgottonia!” Sean West and his partners Scott and Susan Park of Forgottonia Brewing in Macomb, share their story on starting a business and how they are incorporating Forgottonia history. The essential question we asked is “What Does it Take to Run a Successful Business in Forgottonia?” We hope you enjoy this conversation and if you have any questions or feedback we’d love to hear from you by visiting our webpage Forgottonia project.com.

On this episode, we conclude our interview with Dr. James Loewen about his book "Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism." We asked 2 essential questions: What is the legacy of Sundown Towns? Plus, how do you conduct research in your own town? Dr. Loewen is a talented author, historian, and sociologist. He is … Continue reading "S2, E2 – Sundown Towns: What is the Legacy of Sundown Towns in Rural America? Part 2 of our conversation with author James Loewen"

On the first episode of our second season, we were extremely fortunate to interview Dr. James Loewen about his book "Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism." We asked the essential question: What are Sundown Towns?    Dr. Loewen is a talented author, historian, and sociologist. He is best known for his 1995 book, … Continue reading "S2, E1 – What Are Sundown Towns, with author James Loewen"

On Wednesday May 2, we were pleased to welcome Dr. Tim Kasser to Cuba, IL to share his presentation titled "Media and Children's Well-Being"  (The first 30 minutes are Tim's talk while the last 20 minutes Tim answers some questions from the audience). This presentation was part of our Screen Free Week Activities that took … Continue reading "S1, E13 – Media and Children’s Well-Being: How is Screen Time Impacting Our Kids? A Presentation by author Tim Kasser"

On Thursday May 3, 2018 we enjoyed facilitating a conversation with parents about their experience with screens and kids. This event was part of our week-long Screen Free Week experiences at Cuba High School. Our parent panel consisted of Jackie Scharping, Samantha Gilham, Tiffany Clark, and Amy Willett. The panel was moderated by high school … Continue reading "S1, E12 – Parent Panel on Technology: What Advice can Parents Offer about Raising Kids in the 21st Century?"

On Wednesday May 2, 2018 we enjoyed a conversation with students about their experience using technology. This event was part of our week-long Screen Free Week experiences at Cuba High School. Our panel consisted of about a dozen students in Cuba High School's Sociology class. The panel was moderated by Mr. Joe Brewer. Special thanks to … Continue reading "S1, E11 – Student Panel on Technology: How are Young People Using Technology in the 21st Century?"

Listen in to part 2 of our conversation about race and rural America with Dr. Alphonso Simpson. In case you didn't hear part 1, you can check it out by clicking the link here. You can also listen to our class podcast by searching "Forgottonia Project" on iTunes or wherever you find podcasts. Also don't forget to check out some outstanding resources that Dr. Simpson shared with us which he uses in his classes at WIU. You can check them out by clicking the link here .

 We're excited to share this outstanding conversation about race and rural America with Dr. Alphonso Simpson.  Dr. Simpson is a professor of African American Studies at Western Illinois University and also serves as chair of the department of Liberal Arts and Sciences.  He’s been teaching at WIU since 2000 and is the author of 3 … Continue reading "S1, E9 – Conversations on Race and Rural America: How Do We Talk About Race in Rural America? With Dr. Alphonso Simpson"

We are pleased to share this podcast interview as two Cuba high school students, Brianna Gorsuch and Caitlin Patterson, interview with the recently retired Carol Davis over the gender gap and how it impacts Rural America; both in the past as well as the present.  Carol shares her experience with gender inequality, gender stereotypes and … Continue reading "S1, E8 – The Gender Gap: What are the Greatest Concerns for Young Women Growing Up in Rural America? With Carol Davis"

The following is a summary of a panel discussion about poverty in Fulton County that took place March 23, 2017.  The forum took place at the Canton Church of the Brethren and was moderated by Pastor Kevin Kessler. Panelists included Missy Kolowski of the Health and Wellness Clinic of Fulton County,  Rolf Siversten Superintendent CUSD #66, Paster Monroe Bailey of the First Baptist Church, Brooke … Continue reading "S1, E7 – Panel Discussion on Poverty in Rural America: How Do We Address the Stereotypes?"

We previously spoke with Forgottonia native Dr. Trenton Ellis about job loss throughout  rural America. In this interview Dr. Ellis mentioned factors like technology, globalization, and the lack of economic diversity as contributing to job loss. Since our talk with Dr. Ellis was so rich in material and we didn't want to depress you by … Continue reading "S1, E6 – Education Puts Food on the Table: What Can We Do About Job Loss in Rural America? Part 2 of our Conversation with Dr. Trenton Ellis"

The following is a portion of the transcript from our interview with Tim Kasser about value pollution. On this edition we return to our conversation with Dr. Tim Kasser, a psychology professor at Knox College who is no stranger to rural living. We were extremely fortunate to speak with Dr. Kasser, he is the well-known … Continue reading "S1, E5 – Value Pollution: Why Should We Ban Advertisements in School?"

We've explored a number of topics revolving around social problems we face in rural America, but just because we're studying problems in rural America doesn't mean everyone is miserable. Rural places are awesome places to live and there's endless amounts of great things going on. But here´s our essential question today -  can one make … Continue reading "S1, E4 – Well-Being: Are We Happier in a Small Town? Conversation with author & Psychologist Dr. Tim Kasser"

From January 2016 to January 2017, the region known as Forgottonia lost approximately 2,775 jobs. To learn why, we sat down with Dr. Trenton Ellis, a rural sociologist from Black Hills St. University. Although he lives in Spearfish, South Dakota, Ellis is a native of Forgottonia growing up in Canton, IL and graduating from Spoon River College in 2005. After SRC, Ellis completed undergraduate and master’s degrees from Western Illinois University in Macomb. In 2009 he matriculated to South Dakota State University’s Department of Sociology and Rural Studies where he graduated with a PhD in sociology in 2015. In 2016 he was awarded an outstanding Teaching Award at BHSU.

On this episode we wanted to share a cool experience we recently had in our psychology class. We were visited by the lovely Mrs. Karen Hahn a social worker from Psychology Specialists in Canton, IL. Karen’s visit is definitely consistent with our objective to examine the social problems we face in our own context of rural America; specifically these 16 counties in western IL referred to by many as Forgottonia. In fact if we want firsthand insights of what exactly the issues are and what it takes to overcome them, I’m not sure there’s anybody better to talk to then a social worker like Karen.

The following is an excerpt from our initial episode about the Neil Gamm and the history of Forgottonia. Our guest for this episode was Mr. Larry Eskridge from the Canton Daily Ledger. Our essential questions ask "What was the Forgottonia movement about and how is it similar and different today?" ENJOY!