GOLCONDA - Just inside the front entrance of Pope County High School, two wooden brochure racks stand side by side.

On one, a dozen or so scattered pamphlets promote local technical schools, community colleges and area universities. The other nearly overflows with colorful military recruitment brochures promising action and adventure.

"Join America's Team."

"Someday, history classes could read about you."

How can Western Kentucky Community and Technical College compete with that? In rural Pope County, quite often, it can't.

Illinois' least-populated county, with about 4,400 residents, is one of its poorest. But the area is rich territory for Army recruiters. On a per-capita basis, Pope County ranks first in Illinois in Army recruitment over the past four years. Among counties with a population exceeding 1,000, Pope is among the top 10 nationwide, according to analysis by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

"The military is an opportunity for them to get out and see the world, get their education paid for," said Rob Wright, the high school principal. "(It's) a way to do something that is a for-sure opportunity for them to get out of here because there's nothing here for them."

This year, as many as 17 of the 27 seniors plan to go on to college, which is more than normal, Wright said. Most will go to community college about 30 miles away. Those who enter the work force immediately will find it tough going. The county is burdened with one of the state's highest unemployment rates, and good-paying jobs are hard to find. A few graduates might work on the family farm, try construction or find a minimum-wage job in a neighboring county. But with the cost of gasoline so high, it's difficult to come out ahead.

That's why so many high school graduates enlist.

"It's hard to make a living here," said Viola Thompson, clerk of Golconda, population 726, the county's biggest and, some argue, only town. "If I didn't have this job, I'd have to drive 40 miles to find work."

Even some young people who decide to stick around town eventually change their mind and enlist, Mayor Bill Altman said.

"They bum around the farm a bit, and then it's, 'Let's do something different,' " he said.

Once a bustling port on the Ohio River, Golconda suffered a steady decline after flood control levees built in the 1930s cut off the town's river access. Docks and warehouses that lined the riverfront went silent. Today, the five blocks of downtown are quiet enough at midday for residents to stop their pickup trucks in the middle of Main Street to chat.

The county is 375 square miles, a third of which is covered by the rugged Shawnee National Forest. There's no industry to speak of. Poverty rates are among the worst in the state. Some of the best jobs are in the elementary and high school, where a beginning teacher earns about $30,000. Many locals also work as guards at a state work camp.

"You're looking at a full county that has two gas stations, both of them downtown here, and sometimes one, because the other comes and goes," Wright said. "This is about as rural as rural can get."

Military recruiters visit the high school often, setting up tables during lunch.

"We have pretty much an open door for them," Wright said. "I think that they see us as a place where they have a good opportunity to recruit some pretty good kids."

Many, such as Casey Rose, attend basic training between their junior and senior year.

Rose, 18, signed up to serve with an Army National Guard military police unit and will leave for advanced training in August. Part of the reason was to avoid loans to pay for college. Now, he hopes to start classes next spring, courtesy of Uncle Sam.

Rose also remembered the respect students showed to an acquaintance who returned to the school after he had enlisted.

"He went and did something that was better than what other people do," Rose said.

Rose's National Guard unit is scheduled to return from Iraq later this year, and Rose thinks it could be three years before his unit deploys again. Still, he knows things can change quickly in the Army, and he could soon enough find himself in the fight.

Even so, Rose said, the Army "sounded better than just hanging around town."

"But whatever happens … happens."

Phillip O'Connor can be reached at poconnor@post-dispatch.com. Kevin Crowe can be reached at kcrowe@post-dispatch.com.