Degree Name
Master of Science
Department or Program
Mass Communication and Media Arts
Advisor
Jan Thompson
Abstract
An ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF
ROBERT G. “ROBBIE” HISGEN, for the MASTERS OF SCIENCE degree in PROFESSIONAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT presented on *APRIL 12 2018, at Southern Illinois University - Carbondale.
TITLE: THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS IN GIANT CITY
MAJOR PROFESSOR: JAN THOMPSON
The function of this film is to document the hard work of the men that built the one of the best know attractions of southern Illinois Giant City Park, using pictures archived in Morris library by Kay Rippelmeyer. The Civilian Conservation Corp in Giant City was conceived by a graduate student because of the countless days spent in the park and at the lodge for functions, dinners or just to be out enjoying nature walking trails and climbing the multitude of rock formations. Giant City Park begged the question who made all of this? Once researching began it was ostensible that their were more than enough photographs in the archives to make a film that documented the invaluable work that gained access to the park and the construction of the lodge. Access to Giant City being fifteen minutes from campus, along with the photographs and the audio recordings of Kay Rippelmeyer interviewing a portion of the men who built the roads and the lodge for the Civilian Conservation Corp affirmed insight for researcher and reader. America in the early nineteen thirty's may prove to be the low point in the country's history concerning joblessness, economic hardships for the majority of people and hopelessness for the future. The Civilian Conservation Corp was one of the government projects that helped restore hope, invigorate the economy and employ the men in America. Combining the interviews of the Civilian Conservation Corp workers conducted by Kay Rippelmeyer an interview of her along with interviews of Professor Jonathan Bean, and Jenny Johnson the film aims to answer the question of who built the park. The film grants a glimpse at the honorable effort that it took in a construction of this magnitude using mainly hand tools.