[New Shawnee Project from SIUC]

BY CODELL RODRIGUEZ THE SOUTHERN | Posted: Monday, November 30, 2009 12:00 am

 

CARBONDALE – Four Southern Illinois University Carbondale faculty members and three semesters-worth of a multimedia class set out to show Southern Illinois the natural wonders to be found in their back yard.

The project, “The Shawnee Forest: Illinois’ Hidden Gem” includes a book and a multimedia Web site. Students documented the natural beauty, the people and the history of the forest and visited areas such as Little Grand Canyon and Cache River.

The faculty members overseeing the project were Bill Freivogel, director of the School of Journalism; Phil Greer, assistant instructor in photojournalism; Bill Recktenwald, senior lecturer in journalism and A.J. Stoner, visiting assistant professor in journalism. Greer said despite Shawnee Forest being just a drive away for people in the region, the project will show them a side of the region many have never seen.

“There are just some very beautiful pictorals in the book and on the Web site,” Greer said. “I think Southern Illinois, when they see this, are going to be quite shocked, quite proud of this area.”

Photos chronicle the area throughout the seasons and stories and photos show the unique people who make their home in the Shawnee area. One such story follows Velna Dobbs, who became Postmaster of Karber Ridge and now owns and rents out the building that houses the local U.S. Post Office.

Greer said the project shows a part of Illinois that many people in the state are unaware of.

“Southern Illinois is unique and has for years been looked at as the stepchild of the state,” Greer said.

Recktenwald said they hope the book serves as a coffee table book and encourages people to consider it as a gift for the holidays.

Greer said the credit for the quality of the project belongs to the students such as Cary Bryant, a senior in journalism from Centralia, and Bobby Samat, a recent graduate from Springfield. Samat said the project allowed him to visit places he had always wanted to visit but never did. Greer credits Samat with bringing in a great deal of quality photographs during the summer.

“Bobby definitely filled in some of the void left in the summer and took some very fine photos,” Greer said.

Recktenwald said it was important to make the project multimedia because students need to experience how technology changes the field of journalism.

“It’s the journalism of tomorrow,” Recktenwald said.

Bryant, who worked on the Web site, said the project was a great experience and feels that she is much better prepared for life after college because of it. In addition to the work experience, she said it was also just a really fun time.

“It’s great to look back on it and say I was a part of that,” Bryant said.