SOON

The Radium Girls, as shown through the
LCHS 'Catherine Quigg' Collection

The LaSalle County Historical Society was recently gifted the Catherine Quigg Collection. It contains information collected by local Quigg, sharing the stories of numerous women who worked at both Radium Dial and Luminous Processes in Ottawa, Illinois.

The Collection includes interviews recorded on cassette tapes, written interviews, transcriptions of board meetings at the local and state level, correspondence between Quigg and local, state, and national officials, newspaper clippings, scientific reports, hospital documents, and death records. 

This collection tells the story of the Second Generation of Radium Girls, from the 1950s until 1978.

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Hauntingly beautiful, and endlessly educational,  the Catherine Quigg Collection tells a hidden story in the women's own words. It is housed within the LCHS Archives, and will be made available to the public as our staff work to preserve the items and learn the stories in order to interpret this for visitors.