Interviews of Illinois Valley Old-timers is a small gem "in the rough." This compilation comes from some recently discovered pages found in the archives of the Josephine County Historical Society's Research Library. These pages are biographies of elderly Illinois Valley residents taken by students attending Kerby Union High School, circa 1944. If you've spent much time in Josephine County, Oregon you will probably recognize quite a few of the names of the "Old-timers" being interviewed as well as the students conducting the interviews. These Interviews of Illinois Valley Old-timers show how the same events are remembered differently by those who were there. For example, some of the Old-timers remembered the Great Depression as barely touching their lives, while others saw it as one of the "worst hard times." These mini biographies show us a glimpse in the lives of some of our earlier residents of the Illinois Valley, and it is well worth the short time it takes to read them.