Members & guests–free. To RSVP, please scroll down. The day before the discussion, a confirmation email will be sent to registered attendees with additional details to join via Zoom.

When we hear the words “organized crime,” we probably think of operations headquartered in large cities, but in the late 19th and early 20th century, Williamson County IL was a hotbed of violence and civil unrest. Williamson County’s history boasts a 1870’s blood feud, coal mine-related violence, fights between bootleg gangs and the prohibition-era Ku Klux Klan, and fights between rival bootleg gangs. Speaker John Feltham will present on this fascinating history through the lens of several books on the events.

About John Feltham

John Feltham retired from the U.S. Marine Corps as a colonel in 2009 after 26 years of service as a judge advocate (a lawyer, in civilian terms). Highlights of his career included serving as Staff Judge Advocate to three major Marine Corps commands; heading the Research and Policy Branch of the Judge Advocate Division, Headquarters, U.S Marine Corps; serving as an Appellate Military Judge and Senior Appellate Military Judge on the U.S. Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals; and serving as an Appellate Military Judge on the U.S. Court of Military Commission Review. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas and the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States. He has two grown children, and lives with his wife on the family farm near Williamsfield, Illinois.

Please note: while hosted by the Village Men’s Group, this program is open to members & guests of all genders.