The Civilian Conservation Corps in Southern Illinois is the special topic presented by Kay Rippelmeyer on this evening.

The “CCC” was one of several programs designed to help the country recover from the economic depression of the early 1930s, chiefly aimed at young men 17 to 21 years of age. Several records survive from the camps which genealogists may find useful while writing a family’s history.

Ms. Rippelmeyer, a native of Monroe County, Illinois, received a bachelor’s degree in English Education from the University of Illinois, a masters in Literature at Southern Illinois University (SIU), and completed coursework for a PhD in American Culture. Much of her career revolves around an avid interest in southern Illinois history. She directed several grant programs which generated articles and presentations about riverwork and religion in southern Illinois. She formerly held positions as a private consultant and researcher for the Illinois State Museum, the Nature Conservancy, the Dept. of Natural Resources, and the Barkhausen Wetlands Center, advisor at SIU College of Liberal Arts for 26 years, and program liaison for the Illinois Humanities Council in southern Illinois.

Ms. Rippelmeyer retired from SIU in 2008 to focus on publishing two books. The first, Giant City State Park, was published in 2010. Plans are imminent for the release of The Civilian Conservation Corps in Southern Illinois in fall of 2013 which cumulates research on 26 CCC camps in the lower 17 counties of southern Illinois.

This free lecture is presented by the St. Clair County Genealogical Society (SCCGS) at their October meeting. Lecture summaries appear, with permission, in the SCCGS Quarterly.

For more information, please visit: http://www.stclair-ilgs.org.