Lorena Clark

Interview Date: 15 May 1975

Lorena R Clark was interviewed on 15 May 1975 by her son and daughter-in-law Frank and Velma Clark. The audio recording was given to the Brimfield Historical Society to be a part of their collection. It was recorded on cassette tape. In April 2022, Kim (Claybaugh) Hanks converted the cassette to a digital recording. 

Below is a tag and timestamp for this audio recording. The original cassette recording is not high quality. Because of this there are places in the digital recording that may not be audible or discernable. There are likely spelling issues with names and places in the timestamp. 

When searching for key words/tags, names, places, and dates use spelling variations if needed.  

00:00 – 00:15 Introduction by Velma Clark
00:16 – 41:19 Brimfield in the early memories of Lorena R Clark  

Lorena R Clark
Frank Clark
Velma Clark
L. Dungan
Charlie [Charles] Carson
Ralph Carson
Haywood Grocery Store
Arbor Hardware Store
Cady Brothers Store
Memler Brother’s Store
Briggs and Travis Store
Judge Howard (pharmacist/druggist)
Mr. Zern
Hamilton’s house
Doctor Roberts
Doctor Miller (father of Emeline Miller)
Shoe cobbler
Forney’s Restaurant
William “Bill” George’s Restaurant
Vale’s Market
Moving picture theatre
Chichester Hall
Community Building
Miller and Hayward Meat Marker
Bill Murdoch
Slaughter house
Sorghum mill
Ice house
Minnow Johnson
Old Settler’s Picnic
Old Grade School
High School
Claude Stone
Peoria Postmaster
Hal Cady
Dan McCoy
Teaching career
French Grove School
Burt School
Coon
Elmwood
Harold Schissler
John Coster
Electricity
Telephone service
Woodman
Royal Neighbors
Mulvaney Hill
Bobsledding
Alec McDonald
Heating
Churches
Baptist
Presbyterian
Congregational Church
Methodist
Catholic
Episcopal
Lutheran
Neikirck
Bishop Chase
Hasselbacher
Maude [?]
Stone houses
George Tennery
Railroad
Wyoming
Oak Hill
Peoria
Bus service
Willis Smith
Coal mine
R. Clark husband of Lorena and father of Frank]
Memorial Day celebration
Community week
Dean Johnson
Hard road [U.S. Route 150]
Chamberlain’s corner [U.S. Route 150 and Maher Road, east of Brimfield]
Model T car
Studebaker cars
Michigan, Buick
Mr. Pulsipher
School box suppers
Baseball
Basketball
Ruth Savage
Jubilee College
Graduation
Barber shops
Millinery shop
John Dungan
Dress shop
Cecil Miller
Lenore Miller
Miss Maxwell
Threshing season
French Grove
Farming
Butchering
Luke [Lucian?] Cady
Bank holdup
Owen Kelly
Henrietta Memler 

Interviewed by: Frank and Velma Clark

Interview Format: mp3 Recording from Original Cassette Tape

Total Time : 41:19

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.

© Brimfield Public Library District 2023

This interview and accompanying documents may be used for educational and non-commercial purposes without the written permission of the Brimfield Public Library District. However, the Fair Use criteria of Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976 must be followed. These materials may not be deposited in other repositories or used for resale or commercial purposes without authorization from the Brimfield Public Library District Director.