Roger Higgs

Interview Date: 30 June 2022

Roger Higgs was born in 1938 to Estella and Gerald* Higgs and spent the first few years of his life in Trivoli Township. In 1944, his family purchased and moved to the Forney Homestead northeast of Brimfield. Dr. Higgs is a novice historian and genealogist and through this interview shares his passion for both. He details what it was like growing up on the farm, especially during World War II. Roger attended Shane School, a one room school, before transitioning to Brimfield Grade School, and then graduated from Brimfield High School with honors. Roger went on to earn a PHD in plant genetics and enjoyed a successful career as a university professor. One of Roger’s written articles was about the Brimfield Community Building, and he shares that information in this interview. 

*Roger’s father’s name in incorrectly stated in the interview and on the slide in the interview. Roger’s father’s name is Gerald (not Gene). We are very sorry for this error.  

03:13  Forney family
07:44  Growing up on the farm
18:34  Shane School
34:49  Transition to Brimfield Grade School
49:25  Brimfield provided good foundation for his career
50:25  Brimfield Community Company 

James Forney Farm
Maude Forney Hasselbacher
Growing up on the farm
Dorothy Jamison
WW2
4H
FFA
Shane School
Brimfield Grade School
Brimfield High School
Union Church
Veteran
Brimfield Community Company
Brimfield Community Building
Chichester Hall
Ewalt Recreation Center
O.S. Kelly Chamberlain Corners 

Interviewed by : Kim Claybaugh Hanks

Interview Format : Zoom Video Presentation with Slideshow

Total Time :

The interview is archived at the Brimfield Public Library District in Brimfield, Illinois.

The Brimfield Oral History Project is a long-term effort to record the stories of Brimfield’s past in the voices of those who remember and make these original sources available for generations to come. This collaboration is a partnership between the Brimfield Public Library District, the Brimfield Historical Society, and the Peoria County Genealogical Society.

Readers of interview transcripts, if available, should bear in mind that this is a transcript of the spoken word and that the interviewer, interviewee, and editors sought to preserve the interview as recorded. Brimfield Public Library District and project volunteers are not responsible for the factual accuracy of this interview, nor for the opinions expressed within.

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