Ruth Kuhn Youngerman

Class of 1935

Ruth Josephine Kuhn was born in Champaign, Illinois. As a first year student in high school, her family sent her to the University School of Girls in Chicago in order to prepare her for college boards. "It was a day school and then it had room for about 22 boarding students, we had suites that held about two girls each. But that was the Depression years, I went there in 1929, graduated in 1932, and when I graduated there were only 12 in the class." Out of a group of six local friends, only one was able to go away to college. The rest returned home to Urbana to attend the University of Illinois. Although she had hoped to attend Vassar, Ruth felt her instructors and professors at UI were "wonderful."

Family Roots:

Ruth’s family had been established in the area for sometime and were proprietors of the well known clothing store.  “My father [Isaac Kuhn] was born [in Champaign] in 1866.  He was one of  7 children, and of the 7 children [he was the] only one that stayed in this area.  He became involved with his [father's store], first it was Joseph Kuhn's.  It had several names: Empires, Star something, in the last century.” 

Her father’s business was the reason that Ruth chose to major in economics.  “My father did have a business here and no sons, so I decided that I should be the one to get involved.  My father was quite a bit older to be a father. He was 48 when I was born which was quite something in those days.  And so I felt a responsibility, he had built up a quite substantial business, he was called 'The Man Who Made Main Street.'  So I thought I should prepare myself for taking over.  I was afraid of accounting, and I don’t know why I didn’t take accounting, but I took Liberal Arts and majored in economics, but I got a degree in Liberal Arts.” 

Jewish Community:

Ruth had been born to a Jewish family in Champaign.  “There was no difference.  We went to Sunday school because we didn’t have a real ordained rabbi, as they call it, we had a student that came from Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio.  He could, I guess he came on alternate weekends, and he taught Sunday school, Sunday morning and right after Sunday school we had Church service, same as everybody else.  So we didn’t know any different… So, there was really no anti-semitism or difference, we were really just the same as everybody else.”  “Eventually we had our temple, Sinai Temple was built about 1915 or 1916.” 

The Depression:

The Depression did touch families, but Ruth was able to make the hard times into opportunities, resulting in her graduating in three years.  “We didn’t go away [on vacation] during the Depression, we used to go up to Michigan.  And, so I went to two Summer Schools and I finished in three years with the two summer schools.”

Rules:

Cars were rare on campus because of the Depression and because of University rules.  Since she lived in town, Ruth was allowed to have a car on campus.  “I walked the first semester, I walked.  It was about a mile and a half, I thought nothing of it…I walked to school.  Then my family got me, well that was '35, I guess we were getting out of the Depression to a point, and they got me a Model ‘T’.” 

“I think one of [the rules] was that you couldn’t be found on South Campus after dark.  That was a famous place for people to, what shall we say, neck, we called it in those days, necking is what they called it.” 

The Physical Campus:

The campus in the 30’s was different that it is today.  “Back of the what we used to call the Auditorium, and I used to play tennis, we used to have tennis dates in those days.  I used to play tennis back of the Auditorium and there was one or two clay courts and also the statue [Alma Mater] that Bob Chamberlain put at the entrance of the campus, on the corner of, on the corner of Green and Wright, was back of the Auditorium.” 

Memories of U of I

“When the stadium opened in, was it 1924 or 1926, my parents always had a lot of house guests, mother always had lunch ready for 30 or 40 people, in those days there was no place to eat out, unless you stopped at one of the little places around here and at one of the churches, you know.  But to make a long story short, Red Grange played at the opening of the stadium, and I don’t remember, those sides weren’t paved.  Women lost their shoes in the mud.  Mother had to distribute some of her shoes to friends, they didn’t have any shoes to wear when they came out… But that, of course in those days, the stadium was way off the limits.”

After University of Illinois:

After receiving a degree in economics from the U of I in 1935, Ruth attend Simmons College in Boston for further training.  “I went on to graduate school at Simmons College, in those days there were two places that women could go to get further training in business and there was one in Pittsburgh, but I chose the one in Boston, Simmons... had a school on Beacon Hill.”  She returned to Champaign-Urbana in 1936 and began working in the advertising department of her family's clothing store.  In 1938, she married Dr. William Youngerman and raised their three children.  Ruth is an active volunteer in community activities.

The tapes and complete transcript of this interview, conducted October 22, 2000,
are available for research use in the Student Life and Culture Archives.

 

 

Return to The Great Depression Main Page

 

Return to Oral History Main Page