In the 1940s, the Montana Study focused on engaging the University of Montana in outreach efforts in small towns, developing mechanisms to stabilize the family and small communities and improve the quality of small-town life. Its most popular activity was the creation of over a dozen community study groups aimed at community cultural renewal. (SV)

Used 1934-1978 Missouri county-level data to analyze hypotheses related to Goldschmidt thesis. Confirmed hypothesis that scale of farm operation is negatively related to rural community quality of life. Received limited support for hypothesis that quality of life indices are negatively related to amount of increase in farm size over time.(NEC)

Assesses Chicano-Anglo relations in Ontario, California, from 1937-1947, a transitional decade for Chicanos in "semi-rural" areas of American Southwest. Focuses on Chicanos' economic plight, their leadership and organization, civil rights and discrimination, legal issues, and political realities. Studies effect of World War II on Chicano…

Careful long-range planning and slow, deliberate growth have benefitted Kershaw County's 500,000 pleasantly varied acres near the state capitol. The county, famous for its equestrian activity, boasts prestige stables, riding clubs, and trails. In addition there are lakes and numerous parks. Leaders want to maintain this aesthetic appeal while…

Thirteen papers on Kansas and Johnson County, Kansas history are presented. The papers were written by students in a course at the Johnson County Center for Local History or for independent study in local history. The papers are: "Conditions and Construction of Gardner Lake"; "The History of St. Joseph's Church, Shawnee,…

Williamsburg County, South Carolina, is an almost entirely rural area near the coast. Although nearly 50% of the population is under 21, there has been a sharp decline in population since its high in 1950. The outmigration, prounounced for black youth, is caused by a lack of industrial opportunities, although there is slow, steady industrial…

Scouting continues to enjoy the cordial endorsement of school men everywhere in the US. More and more those interested are coming to see the enormous possibilities of cooperation between the scout movement and the schools. Many schools now give credit for scout work done outside of the schools. Many more are in hearty sympathy with the program as…

This biography profiles the late Elizabeth (Betty) Murray, an educator and community leader from Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia (Canada). Chapter 1 looks at Murray's leadership skills as, at age 77, she prepared and directed her annual musical in which the people of Tatamagouche recreate a significant moment in their village history. Chapter 2 moves…

This book examines the life of the Reverend Moses Michael Coady (1890-1959), a Roman Catholic priest who led the Antigonish Movement. During the Antigonish Movement, residents of the small maritime town of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, worked to achieve a nonviolent alternative to communism and fascism and to effect the social and economic…

Mount Joy Township is located in southeastern Pennsylvania, in Adams County. It is immediately adjacent to the historic battlefield and town of Gettysburg. Though irregular in shape, it averages about 5 miles from north to south and 41 miles from east to west, and contains approximately 36 square miles. The population of the township in 1910 was…

In all States of the Union having a large rural population, efforts are made to adjust the work of the country schools to the needs of country life. There is a widespread feeling that the schools must become a more important factor in country life than they have been and contribute more toward the solution of its problems. To that end normal…

Grouse Creek is a small Mormon ranching community in the extreme northwest corner of Utah. A survey of that community was conducted during 1985 by a team of folklorists, architectural historians, and historians, with the purpose of testing the idea of combining in the same fieldwork a concern for architecture, folk arts, and folklife. The work was…

This book documents the story of Alice Lloyd, a Massachusetts woman who founded Caney Creek Community Center and Caney Junior College (now Alice Lloyd College) in eastern Kentucky during the early 20th century. For the past 70 years, the college has enabled thousands of students from Appalachia to obtain a college education at little or no cost.…

Outlines the primary arguments and much of the available evidence on desirable school size. Summarizes important factors in the history of U.S. school consolidation. Suggests that the key to the school size debate may be educational control rather than educational quality. Contains 39 references. (SV)

Discusses the history and philosophy of the premise of rural localism from Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty to its present relationship to the New Federalism of the Reagan administration. Concludes that the concept and its consequences should be reexamined by those in the rural social work profession. (Author/BRR)