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This lecture was about the small town, how it was set up, and how it died but now might be having a comeback. I guess I don't come from a small town (classmates informed me of this) but I do see the T-town in D-town (Dickinson as some people call it). I can see the railroad and then Broadway and Main parallel and perpendicular to the railroads. I have also seen the decrease in population. Take the glory that is Prairie Hills Mall, for example. My grandfather tells me that back in its heyday every shop in the mall was full and had people waiting for someone to go out of business so they could get in. Today, there are hardly any stores left! There's a K-Mart, Herbegers, JC Penny's, Wells Fargo, and a few other small businesses, but nothing really to attract people to shop there when they can just drive the extra 100 miles to Bismarck. What was really interesting was the fact that all the towns that were not next to the railroad eventually died out and the ones that were close to them flourished. This makes sense though; its more sensible to live as close as you can the the railroad when that is pretty much your lifeline. Towns flourished, the women started giving piano lessons, community theaters popped up, and mens clubs were established. These were places where the men could safely brag about (or rag on) their wives. The main reason for the emptying of small towns, other than the railroad, was the Dust Bowl during the '30s and WWII.

I really enjoyed this lecture because it reminded me of the sense of community that the plains offer. I recall having a conversation with a man from California on the light rail in the cities. He moved here for the snow but stayed here for the people. He told me "We would not even be having this conversation. People don't look at people for fear of being shot." This was just beyond me! I love saying hi to random people and smiling at them, especially the grumpy ones; they usually don't know if they should be even more mad that someone would have the gall to be so happy, or if they should just smile back.