Interview with Cleon Stewart, a Texas National Guard WWII veteran and POW from Tulia, Texas, who served and was captured with the 2nd Battalion, 131st Field Artillery (known as the "Lost Battalion"). Stewart discusses joining the National Guard, training and the Louisiana Maneuvers, deployment to the Pacific in November, 1941, diversion to Java after December 7th, Japanese air strikes and the invasion, the American surrender and initial internement by the Japanese, experiences in internment at Bicycle Camp in Batavia, transfer to Changi Camp, Singapore, and life in captivity there, and liberation.

Interview with Frank Polenta, a former member of the Civilian Conservation Corps from Meadville, Pennsylvania. Polenta discusses his background and his experiences at the CCC Camp Pebble Dell--ANF No. 1 in Marienville, Pennsylvania.

Allan Blooms’ book, The Closing of the American Mind, reopened the debate on the value of a classic learning curriculum. In recent years the Classic Learning Core and the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Texas have sponsored national conferences on the core and the curriculum. The articles which appear here are among the papers presented to those conferences. The Classic Learning Core is a distinguished curriculum for integrating the humanities requirements into a coherent sequence, a program which has been cited by the former Secretary of Education as one of four programs in the country leading to renewal in general education. It emphasizes the underlying units of knowledge, the study of class and classical books and documents, critical and creative thinking, and a thorough mastery of reading, writing, and speaking skills. This curriculum forms a coherent background in the greatest traditions of Western civilization. Topics covered include the history and development of the liberal arts, pros and cons of the core curriculum, advantages and disadvantages of teaching the great books, the role of the liberal arts in a pluralist society, the contents of the core curriculum and pedagogy.

Interview with Glenn F. Davis, a former member of the Civilian Conservation Corps from Plano, Texas. Davis discusses his family, farming background, and working for the CCC at camps in Colorado, Texas, and California during the Great Depression.

Interview with James Stines, a former member of the Civilian Conservation Corps from Mena, Arkansas, regarding his experiences and memories of participating in the CCC during the Great Depression.

Interview with John Arwine, a former member of the Civilian Conservation Corps from Hurst, Texas, regarding his experiences and memories of participating in the CCC during the Great Depression.

Interview with Margaret Dawson concerning her recollections of the Crater of Diamonds and diamond mining near Murfreesboro, Arkansas from 1951 to 1962.

Interview with O.L. Davis concerning his experiences while employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Davis worked at a camp in Carlsbad, New Mexico (Company 2868).