2 options
Against all odds : rural community in the information age / John C. Allen and Don A. Dillman.
LIBRA HN79.W2 A43 1994
Available from offsite location
Van Pelt Library HN79.W2 A43 1994
Mixed Availability
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Allen, John C. (John Conrad), 1954-
- Series:
- Rural studies series of the Rural Sociological Society
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Rural conditions.
- Washington (State)--Rural conditions.
- Washington (State).
- Physical Description:
- xviii, 238 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.
- Place of Publication:
- Boulder, Colo. : Westview Press, 1994.
- Summary:
- The authors' model orients this community in the vortex of contemporary forces, pointing up, for example, the need for face-to-face interaction among residents versus the larger society's demand for electronic communication. With increasing conflicts between the culture of rural communities and that of the "outside world" occurring, small towns all over the United States are losing their businesses, their doctors, and their sense of community. Yet the town described in this study is thriving. Against All Odds identifies pride, determination, and a sense of belonging that must be nurtured--and the local organization that binds all of these factors together--in order to keep a small town alive in the face of powerful disruptive forces. Not since Vidich and Bensman's landmark Small Town in Mass Society has such a thoughful examination of a contemporary rural community been available.
- Contents:
- 1 Confronting the Inevitable 1
- The Meeting 1
- The Outcome 5
- 2 Locating Bremer: Influences of Space and Time 9
- The Beginning 16
- Bremer Today: Deceptively Serene 18
- The Town Proper 22
- 3 Gaining Perspective: A Framework for Analysis 25
- A Framework for Understanding Community Change 28
- Community-Control Era 30
- The Mass Society 34
- Information Era 38
- 4 Agriculture: Reconciliation of Making a Living, Government, and a Way of Life 49
- How Farming Used to Be 49
- How Farming Is Today 51
- The Act of Farming 53
- Community Control of Bremer's Agriculture 61
- The Risk of Rape and Green Manure 62
- Keeping the Land in the Family: Lawyers and In-Laws Don't Mix 64
- Are You with Us or Against Us? Working with Government Agencies 68
- Computer Farming: National Networks and Playing the Futures 69
- Conclusion: Living in Three Eras 73
- 5 Bremer's Other Businesses: Each in Its Proper Place 75
- Main Street 76
- The Bremer Bank: Standing in Line for a Publicly Approved Loan 77
- The Hartford Grocery Store: Food but No Toothpaste 79
- The Drugstore: Orders by Computer, Delivery by Person 83
- The Bremer Hardware Store: Teapots and Tractors 84
- The Insurance Agency: Bring Your Own Cup 87
- Center Fertilizer and Farm Supplier: The Cost of Five-Cent Peanuts and a Misplaced Coffee Pot 88
- The Kholer Tractor Company: Outsiders with Names on Their Shirts 91
- Bremer Telephone and Cable Television Company: A Co-op with Digital Switching and Optic Fiber Cables 93
- Cafe by Day and Tavern by Night: Bremer Caps and Other Local Rules 95
- The Requirements of Doing Business in Bremer: Complexity Hidden by Simplicity 98
- 6 More Important than Government: The Community Club 103
- City Council: Keeping Everyone Happy and Moving in the "Right Direction," 106
- Coffee Time and Necessary Explanations 110
- Other Perspectives on Leadership 110
- The Community Club as a Community-Control Facilitator 115
- Bremer: Contrast with Other Community Studies 118
- 7 Gender: Women's Roles Have Changed, Most Men's Haven't 123
- A Wedding Anniversary in Bremer 123
- Elk Season: A Ritual Stratified by Gender 128
- Role Expectations 130
- A Change from the Outside 132
- Conclusion: Changing Roles, Added Stress 134
- 8 Medical Care: Fulfilling the Old Doctor's Account and Getting a Replacement 137
- 1958: The Arrival of Dr. Hager 139
- A Physician's Plea for Help 141
- Needed but Not an Insider 142
- Hippocratic Oath Versus What Were They There For 144
- A Helicopter and the Loss of Control 146
- 9 Education in Bremer: No Dropouts and a Winning Sports Program 149
- Half Bird, Half Animal: The Mascot That Didn't Work 149
- "Westsiders" or Locals: Who Controls the Bremer School? 150
- The School: 50 Years of Maintaining Identity 153
- The Importance of Knowing Each Student 153
- School Levies: We Could Pay More 155
- Athletics: Ritual or Sports? 156
- Hiring Within or Hiring Outsiders? 158
- But I Can't Read 159
- Classes by Satellite: Cost Isn't the Problem 162
- 10 Religion: A Tradition Bypassed? 167
- Churches and Their Role 168
- Sunday-Morning "Men's Time," 171
- Cooperation Among Churches 172
- Religious Leaders: Knowing Them Is the Problem 174
- 11 Class and Social Life 177
- Birth: Expectations and Orientations 179
- Party Lines and Community Information 180
- Bremer Friendship Calendar: Whose Birthday Is It Today? 181
- Recreation: Work and Play Blend Together 181
- Reflections on the Past 182
- Social-Class Differences 183
- "Welfare People": No Place to Go 185
- 12 Community Expression and Renewal: The Bremer Fair and Stock Show 189
- Preparations 190
- Frying Cakes and Turning Eggs 191
- The Wheat Fete 193
- Bremer Golf Tournament 196
- The Parades 197
- Potluck Dinners 200
- The Finale 201
- 13 Community in Bremer ... and the United States 205
- Reasons for Persistence of the Bremer Community 207
- Community at What Price? 209
- Lessons for Other Places 210
- How to Make Things Happen: Getting a Doctor 211
- How Not to Make Things Happen: A Case of Poor Judgment 212
- Building Intentional Community 214
- The Role of Community in Building Social and Cultural Identity 217
- Ignoring the True Potential Resource Base of Community 218.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- ISBN:
- 081338821X
- 0813388422
- OCLC:
- 30778409
The Penn Libraries is committed to describing library materials using current, accurate, and responsible language. If you discover outdated or inaccurate language, please fill out this feedback form to report it and suggest alternative language.