Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures

432 East Campus Mall, Room 332
Madison, Wisconsin 53706
608-262-8180
Web site: http://csumc.wisc.edu

Western Illinois University (Map)

Western Illinois University Archives and Special Collections houses ethnographic documentation from two publicly-funded folk arts projects that occurred in 1987. They are accessible through the collection designations of “The Gregory Hansen Collection” and “The Schuyler Arts Folk Music Project Collection.” The Gregory Hansen Collection includes documentation of more than 30 duck decoy carvers in West Central Illinois along the lower Illinois and Rock rivers as well as a stretch of the Upper Mississippi River. Folklorist Gregory Hansen conducted the survey for the Illinois Institute of Rural Affairs and the Western Illinois University College of Fine Arts. The documentation includes typescripts of interview information, recorded interviews, photographs and negatives, as well as a photo log with contact sheets. Musician Chris Vallilo, on behalf of the Schuyler Arts Council (Rushville, Illinois) in conjunction with the Illinois Arts Council and the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, surveyed Schuyler County's folk music for the Schuyler Arts Folk Music Project. His work resulted in recorded interviews of 19 individuals and 6 performances, and includes notes, logs, photographs, permission forms, and completed interview transcripts.