On June 25th, Nine of us met at Mary's home to talk about the book "Our Towns", Annie, Saran, Marylib, Sheri, Margie, Linda, Paige and Libby.
This was the story of a journey and of an America that seems to work. Since 2013, the Fallows, who are a married couple, have traveled to small communities in every part of the country that have faced economic shocks, political crises, or other serious hardships. Each place they went, they talked with teachers, business creators, mayors, religious leaders, students, artists and architects, librarians, and others involved in shaping their community's future. As they traveled across the country, at low altitude in a little propeller airplane, they saw patterns of river and hill that explain the pattern of American settlement. On the ground, they saw the emerging pattern of American reinvention, and those are reflected in each story in the book, sometimes so very different.
For the most part everyone in attendance liked the book, though there were various declarations of how much was read by each person. Most people jumped around reading different towns not in sequence. Annie and others felt each place made them think of other towns not included in the book. We all felt that the power of small communities is strong. Sheri said that immigrants are so very important to talk about, and Maddy felt that maybe a lot was white washed and left out. Saran wondered at the rationales for choosing what towns to visit, and that there were so many left out. Libby enjoyed the flyover sections as those descriptions gave her the sense of how the landscape shapes certain communities. Annie said that innovation and change was so very important. Libby noted that there had to be a catalyst or planner that was forward thinking in each town. It was also noted that the more national politics was discussed, the worse shape the town was in, that there was much division in the community. For small towns to thrive, people have to get along.
"Across the country in smaller towns outside the media spotlight, a new American is being built - one that is innovative, compromise minded, optimistic, and working toward practical solutions to the problems of this age." Small towns will be America's future.
