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: Afr...

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...

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 d...

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 MI...

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...

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: Th...

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) … Co...

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: Th...

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...

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 Desper...

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 … Continu...

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:...

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 W...

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...

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&#16...

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 Mu...

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 share...

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 o...

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 chal...