| List of Illustrations | p. xiii |
| Preface | p. xv |
| Acknowledgments | p. xvii |
| Confronting the Inevitable | p. 1 |
| The Meeting | p. 1 |
| The Outcome | p. 5 |
| Locating Bremer: Influences of Space and Time | p. 9 |
| The Beginning | p. 16 |
| Bremer Today: Deceptively Serene | p. 18 |
| The Town Proper | p. 22 |
| Gaining Perspective: A Framework for Analysis | p. 25 |
| A Framework for Understanding Community Change | p. 28 |
| Community-Control Era | p. 30 |
| The Mass Society | p. 34 |
| Information Era | p. 38 |
| Agriculture: Reconciliation of Making a Living, Government, and a Way of Life | p. 49 |
| How Farming Used to Be | p. 49 |
| How Farming Is Today | p. 51 |
| The Act of Farming | p. 53 |
| Community Control of Bremer's Agriculture | p. 61 |
| The Risk of Rape and Green Manure | p. 62 |
| Keeping the Land in the Family: Lawyers and In-Laws Don't Mix | p. 64 |
| Are You with Us or Against Us? Working with Government Agencies | p. 68 |
| Computer Farming: National Networks and Playing the Futures | p. 69 |
| Conclusion: Living in Three Eras | p. 73 |
| Bremer's Other Businesses: Each in Its Proper Place | p. 75 |
| Main Street | p. 76 |
| The Bremer Bank: Standing in Line for a Publicly Approved Loan | p. 77 |
| The Hartford Grocery Store: Food but No Toothpaste | p. 79 |
| The Drugstore: Orders by Computer, Delivery by Person | p. 83 |
| The Bremer Hardware Store: Teapots and Tractors | p. 84 |
| The Insurance Agency: Bring Your Own Cup | p. 87 |
| Center Fertilizer and Farm Supplier: The Cost of Five-Cent Peanuts and a Misplaced Coffee Pot | p. 88 |
| The Kholer Tractor Company: Outsiders with Names on Their Shirts | p. 91 |
| Bremer Telephone and Cable Television Company: A Co-op with Digital Switching and Optic Fiber Cables | p. 93 |
| Cafe by Day and Tavern by Night: Bremer Caps and Other Local Rules | p. 95 |
| The Requirements of Doing Business in Bremer: Complexity Hidden by Simplicity | p. 98 |
| Conclusion | p. 100 |
| More Important than Government: The Community Club | p. 103 |
| City Council: Keeping Everyone Happy and Moving in the "Right Direction," | p. 106 |
| Coffee Time and Necessary Explanations | p. 110 |
| Other Perspectives on Leadership | p. 110 |
| The Community Club as a Community-Control Facilitator | p. 115 |
| Bremer: Contrast with Other Community Studies | p. 118 |
| Conclusion | p. 121 |
| Gender: Women's Roles Have Changed, Most Men's Haven't | p. 123 |
| A Wedding Anniversary in Bremer | p. 123 |
| Elk Season: A Ritual Stratified by Gender | p. 128 |
| Role Expectations | p. 130 |
| A Change from the Outside | p. 132 |
| Conclusion: Changing Roles, Added Stress | p. 134 |
| Medical Care: Fulfilling the Old Doctor's Account and Getting a Replacement | p. 137 |
| 1958: The Arrival of Dr. Hager | p. 139 |
| A Physician's Plea for Help | p. 141 |
| Needed but Not an Insider | p. 142 |
| Hippocratic Oath Versus What Were They There For | p. 144 |
| A Helicopter and the Loss of Control | p. 146 |
| Conclusion | p. 146 |
| Education in Bremer: No Dropouts and a Winning Sports Program | p. 149 |
| Half Bird, Half Animal: The Mascot That Didn't Work | p. 149 |
| "Westsiders" or Locals: Who Controls the Bremer School? | p. 150 |
| The School: 50 Years of Maintaining Identity | p. 153 |
| The Importance of Knowing Each Student | p. 153 |
| School Levies: We Could Pay More | p. 155 |
| Athletics: Ritual or Sports? | p. 156 |
| Hiring Within or Hiring Outsiders? | p. 158 |
| But I Can't Read | p. 159 |
| Classes by Satellite: Cost Isn't the Problem | p. 162 |
| Conclusion | p. 165 |
| Religion: A Tradition Bypassed? | p. 167 |
| Churches and Their Role | p. 168 |
| Sunday-Morning "Men's Time," | p. 171 |
| Cooperation Among Churches | p. 172 |
| Religious Leaders: Knowing Them Is the Problem | p. 174 |
| Conclusion | p. 175 |
| Class and Social Life | p. 177 |
| Birth: Expectations and Orientations | p. 179 |
| Party Lines and Community Information | p. 180 |
| Bremer Friendship Calendar: Whose Birthday Is It Today? | p. 181 |
| Recreation: Work and Play Blend Together | p. 181 |
| Reflections on the Past | p. 182 |
| Social-Class Differences | p. 183 |
| "Welfare People": No Place to Go | p. 185 |
| Conclusion | p. 187 |
| Community Expression and Renewal: The Bremer Fair and Stock Show | p. 189 |
| Preparations | p. 190 |
| Frying Cakes and Turning Eggs | p. 191 |
| The Wheat Fete | p. 193 |
| Bremer Golf Tournament | p. 196 |
| The Parades | p. 197 |
| Potluck Dinners | p. 200 |
| The Finale | p. 201 |
| Conclusion | p. 202 |
| Community in Bremer ... and the United States | p. 205 |
| Reasons for Persistence of the Bremer Community | p. 207 |
| Community at What Price? | p. 209 |
| Lessons for Other Places | p. 210 |
| How to Make Things Happen: Getting a Doctor | p. 211 |
| How Not to Make Things Happen: A Case of Poor Judgment | p. 212 |
| Building Intentional Community | p. 214 |
| The Role of Community in Building Social and Cultural Identity | p. 217 |
| Ignoring the True Potential Resource Base of Community | p. 218 |
| Conclusion | p. 220 |
| Appendix | p. 225 |
| Bibliography | p. 231 |
| Index | p. 235 |
| About the Book and Authors | p. 239 |
| Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved. |
