During the 1930s, the state of Illinois suffered the effects of the Great Depression, just like the rest of the country. Students at the University of Illinois felt the effects of the economic downturn in a number of ways.
This collection of 45 oral histories was compiled from a series of interviews conducted by the Student Life and Culture Archival Program in 2000, 2001, and 2007 in an effort to document student life at the University of Illinois from the years 1928 to 1938.
The last living interviewee died in December 2021. This makes these recordings all the more important, as they preserve the experiences, memories, thoughts, and voices of those who are no longer here to share them.
Rudard Jones (1913-2005) graduated in 1936. He majored in Architectural Engineering and worked in the Ricker Library and as a waiter. He said he needed the extra money in the Depression. He was a member of the Phi Eta Sigma honorary society, and he received the Alpha Rho Chi professional honor metal.
Ruth Kuhn Youngerman (1914-2021) was a member of the Class of 1935. She studied Economics and attended graduate school for business. Ruth joined the Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority, but she was not very active in it. Finally, Ruth said she did not experience discrimination as a Jewish student.
Sidney Dilks (1906-2006) came to the University of Illinois as an undergraduate in 1924 and attended the law school for a year before transferring. Dilks recalls difficulty paying his education, and he was the first member of his family to attend college. He also remembers watching Red Grange score four touchdowns at the opening of Memorial Stadium in 1928.
Wanda Spencer Larson (1918-2003) graduated in 1938. She majored in Education and joined the Chi Omega sorority. Wanda had rich memories of the manners and mores of campus life at the time.
William O'Dell (1909-2009) graduated in 1931. He joined the Delta Upsilon fraternity and studied Commerce and Business. William said his choice of major made him aware of the stock market crash and the Great Depression. He said he felt a pinch during the Depression, but he was not seriously impoverished.
