Richard Lowe grew up during the Great Depression on a southern Illinois farm, then spent World War II in the Navy. He served on the destroyer USS Wadsworth, which saw action in several of the most important naval battles in the Pacific theater. Following the war he returned to Illinois, went to college on the G.I. Bill, and spent a long and productive career teaching ag. and ag business courses both at the high school level and to farmers in the St. Elmo area of southern Illinois. In that capacity, he helped modernize Illinois farming during an era when farm yields were exploding.
Interview Links
Abstract
Interview Session 01 (Audio)
Early life on the farm, Navy training and initial experiences in the Navy
Interview Session 02 (Audio)
Navy experiences during WW II in the Pacific and return to ag education
Interview Session 03 (Audio)
Life as a high school agriculture teacher and agricultural innovations
Photos
Caption
The Lowe family in the early 1940s. Pictured are (top row, left to right) Carroll, Richard, Don, father Charles Cecil (CC), mother Agnes; (front row, left to right) Clara, Doris, Dorothy, and Mary.
Where:
Unknown
When:
early 1940s
Ownership:
Narrator's photos
Caption
Richard Lowe is pictured with his grandparents, Eli and Florence Morgan in 1942.
Where:
Southern Illinois
When:
1942
Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
The Lowe family in the mid-1950s: Mary (Richard’s wife), Richard, and in front, Charles, Robert, and Anne.
Where:
Unknown
When:
mid-1950s
Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
A Caterpillar D-7 bulldozer pulling a land leveler at Mulberry Grove, Illinois in the mid 1950s.
Where:
Mulberry Grove, Illinois
When:
mid-1950s
Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Richard Lowe’s shadow box, showing the USS Wadsworth, the medals he earned during the war, and his rank, a Petty Officer Second Class, with a specialty as a quartermaster.
Where:
Unknown
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
ALPL Oral History Program photo
Caption
Richard Lowe is pictured with other veterans at an American Legion meeting at St. Elmo, Illinois.
Where:
St. Elmo, Illinois
When:
2010s
Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Richard Lowe is pictured with Isaac Grapperhaus’s and Amy Calhoun’s fifth grade students. Richard, Tom Lucken, Bill Goodwin, Bob Heckert, Steve Morrison, and David Cox were attending the St. Elmo Public Library veterans’ program for fifth graders.
Where:
St. Elmo Public Library
When:
2010s
Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Richard Lowe attended a flag retirement ceremony at American Legion Post #420 in St. Elmo, Illinois on Tuesday, November 11, 2014.
Where:
St. Elmo, Illinois
When:
November 11, 2014
Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
The Lowe family established a college scholarship to honor their father. Richard awarded the Richard M. Lowe family scholarship to a graduating St. Elmo senior.
Where:
St. Elmo, Illinois
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator's photo
Caption
Richard Lowe at the time of his interview in October 2019. He lived in Effingham at the time. Note the painting of DD-516 behind him, the USS Wadsworth.
Where:
Effingham, Illinois
When:
October 2019
Ownership:
ALPL Oral History Program photo