| Show DOCTORS CLINICS NURSES ty f si electricians FREEZER LOCKER OPERATORS SEED TESTERS b 0 r 3 PLAY fir LOS COMMUNITY POOLS BUIL DINerS SMALL USA rural america Is on threshold of many y changes by EARLE HITCH released by feature features editors note first in on a series of articles on the vital problems and opportunities of small town and rural america almost like clicking a switch rural america has been snapped into a new age it is the era of big scale scientific agricultural production farming is undergoing revolutionary changes As a consequence there is a shifting and shuffling in rural occupations the new farming farmin 9 demands fewer workers but it wants more mechanical skills more capital and more business brains industry is decentralizing branches of big plants are getting away from the congestion of cities more small shops and mills are springing up in rural environments this too is changing the character of rural em 0 As machines displace la bor in farming new rural occupy eions will have to be created other wise local population losses are inevitable hence the people who live in the country today need and win will have a new kind of community the new community must be more than a place for trade it must be the civic center of the whole country round about as much devoted to matters of health recreation and social good as to matters of business new outlook demanded to keep pace with these changing conditions the small towns will have to get new shapes and new outlooks they will have to adapt to the needs of their particular sur soundings roun dings they need re designing redesigning to make their activities suiter to the new rural life that is developing the country itself is becoming citified that is country people are as style conscious and as socially alert as city people they have new expectations of their towns thus the towns must reconsider their reasons tor for being the towns that lecog nize this will find ways for or more community usefulness those that act boldly and with image nation are going to be heard from these are the conclusions of those who are watching the trends over rural america that is why the years just ahead promise to be an era of activity in rural community plan nin ang for the small towns which bestir themselves a bright and larger fu ture is in prospect now for the first time since the automobile and the smooth highway switched trade to the city the rural communities have a chance to come back they need not be content with obsolescence soles cence what they need is to come alive to shake themselves and take hope that s the opinion of leaders in the rural life movement among whom are eugene smathers who has developed a model plan at big lick tenn dr baker brownell who directed the montana rural study for rockefeller foundas on 0 E baker social scientist of uni hersity of maryland and monsignor L G ligutti secretary of national catholic rural life conference pioneer in program important pioneering has been done ul rural community re bation the lead in actually demon what can be done has been taken by the catholic and protes tant churches which have bushed missions tor for social work in several rural communities and by the american friends service corn com cittee which has community broj acts in pennsylvania and south carolina surveys and studies have been made by rockefeller faunda tion by various farm bureau feder allons the farmers union the na dional grange some of the agrical tural colleges and the U S depart ment of agriculture taken together these surveys and inquiries show what is needed and practical ways to go about filling the needs the inquiries and experiments have confirmed what civic lead ers have been maintaining that there are many ways in which the small community probably to its own surprise can provide what growing num bers 0 of people want and cannot find elsewhere that is first of all a pleasant place in which to work and live the towns which realize this and act on a the idea will be he in favorable position things most needed over ove r the country generally are better health services clinics hospitals park spaces and swimming pools new ne jobs to take the place of those that are being eliminated by farm ma chinery and more opportunities for small farming on a family support ing basis devise new projects among the practical projects that have been devised are rural home tor for industrial workers other types of homesteads for young rural couples wishing to get land and make a start in small farming new rural industries like seed testing poultry killing alfalfa and sweet po tato dehydrating mechanical re pairs and upkeep for farm machin ery and electrical installations in yural rural homes and various compera tive projects like machinery pools creameries canning and other proc essing enterprises to keep the rural economy lazed and to help the small farm families survive in the competition with big scale farming is a national policy to which congress long has been committed and which is sup ported by churches farm federa eions and political poh parties the farm is the seed bed of the nation say the population special ests and the rural economists from the farm come many of the men and women of tomorrow the cities never have replaced themselves and are not doing so now the rural institutions that have been outmoded should have the attention of the whole rural community over the country generally everything from churches to mercantile sa s stems needs overhauling and there should be considerable ed about what a modern rural community should under take to do for its people the idea that the small town has new and important functions should be planted at once in the commini ties that are determined to catch up with the trends and should be em ein pha sized by repetition until the citi zens are convinced they should do something about it seeing Is believing to get the rural community out of its obsolescence and persuade it to catch up with farming progress the whole people youth and adults must be made to see community de they will not see until they are made to take a look this is going to take tact persistence and energetic leadership to help develop and direct such leadership Is one of the objects of the agencies backing the rural life movement this movement will be described in the next article in this series |
