Dr. Anderson, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin- River Falls, describes events that occurred between the depression and the end of World War II. He also describes life in a small town in Northern Minnesota and college life in the late 1920s and early 1930's.

Senator Knowles begins the interview discussing his early life in River Falls, Wisconsin, including his memories of local businesses and Ku Klux Klan activities. He talks about the prohibition, the depression, and life in River Falls during this period. He discusses at length his time at the River Falls State Teacher's College and ends the interview detailing his recollections of World War II, Pearl Harbor, and his time in the Air Force.

Mr. Nelson entered the U.S. Navy in September 1942, and served as a motor-mechinist on PT boats in the South Pacific. The bulk of the interview involves his recollections of the details of PT boat operations, how patrols were conducted, the hazards involved, the performance capabilities of PT boats, and how boats and engines were maintained under adverse conditions.

Mr. St. George, a native of Simpsonm, MN., served in the U.S. Army from January 1945. He was sent to Australia with the 32nd Divison, then assigned the staff of Yank, an Army publication distributed to U.S. servicemen overseas during much of the war. He covered troup loadings in New Guinea and the Phillipines for Yank, and also contributed catroons. After the war he remained in the field of journalism and at the time of the interview was a columnist with the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The interview is focused on Mr. St. George's somewhat unusual wartime role as a news reporter in uniform.

Dr. Marvin Thompson begins with biographical information and goes on to discuss his erperiences in a small town while he was growing up. During the depression, Dr. Thompson spendt a year working in the Civilian Conservation Corps before he went to college at Iowa State University. He was drafted into the Army in 1943. In the three years that Dr. Thompson was in teh Army he never left the U.S. but worked on his degree in radio communications. After the war, Dr. Thompson finished undergraduate and graduate work before coming to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls to teach.