A Tale Of Two Towns

The author explores "the decentralized spread of California's Silicon Valley, the crowded streets of New York City's Jackson Heights neighborhood, the controlled growth of Portland, Oregon, and the stage-set facades of Disney's planned community, Celebration, Florida," and argues that the real forces of shaping cities--transportation systems, industry and business, and political decision making--have been ignored.--Cover.

Between the years 1949 and 1976, Luther David Ralph (son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, farmer, carpenter, storyteller, journalist) wrote over 800 columns entitled "Billy the Goat's Tales of Two Towns By L.D.R." for the GOODLETTSVILLE GAZETTE. In his first column he wrote, "This column will start in Shackle Island (TN) and eventually wind up in Goodlettsville (TN)......we will endeavor to mingle news of the past as handed down for posterity with amusing events of today." During those 27 years he did write about current events; memories of life on Long Hollow; stories of adventures in The West; and, occasionally family events. Mr. Ralph's reminiscences. and observations provide a glimpse into the life in rural Sumner County, Tennessee between the towns Goodlettsville (actually just over the line in Davidson County, TN) and Shackle Island along the Long Hollow he called home for the nine decades of his life (1890-1979). Granddaughter Annelle Ralph Hawkins Huggins has located many of the original columns saved by family members and readers over the years and additional ones in the holdings of the Tennessee State Library and Archives. She has chosen 91 representative columns for this compilation. Ms. Huggins has been an academic librarian for 41 years and currently serves as Associate Professor / Associate Dean of University Libraries at the University of Memphis. She continues to seek additional writings by her grandfather and to transcribe all findings into electronic format to be "handed down for posterity."

The 1890s was a tumultuous decade in American history, with economic depression, war, heated politics, and labour conflicts surrounding America's emergence as a world power. Against this chaotic background, life in the rowdy western mining town of Durango, Colorado, and the quiet agricultural hamlet of Sandwich, Illinois, seemed to be worlds apart. In A TALE OF TWO TOWNS, historian Duane Smith takes a comparative look at Durango and Sandwich in an effort to determine what life was like in these two small communities. His fascinating study, based on a close examination of papers, municipal records, and personal correspondence, offers a unique portrait of everyday life in these two towns. A TALE OF TWO TOWNS shows how small town life a century ago in these communities was quite similar, and hauntingly familiar to life in each town today.

The 1890s was a tumultuous decade in American history, with economic depression, war, heated politics, and labour conflicts surrounding America's emergence as a world power. Against this chaotic background, life in the rowdy western mining town of Durango, Colorado, and the quiet agricultural hamlet of Sandwich, Illinois, seemed to be worlds apart. In A TALE OF TWO TOWNS, historian Duane Smith takes a comparative look at Durango and Sandwich in an effort to determine what life was like in these two small communities. His fascinating study, based on a close examination of papers, municipal records, and personal correspondence, offers a unique portrait of everyday life in these two towns. A TALE OF TWO TOWNS shows how small town life a century ago in these communities was quite similar, and hauntingly familiar to life in each town today.

State of the Nation: South Africa 2007 offers 22 diverse angles on contemporary South Africa in one compelling and comprehensive collection. The politics section focuses on the outcome of the 2006 local government elections and issues of service delivery. The economy section examines the rapidly growing social welfare net, the state of our public health systems, and the topics of water and the environment, heritage and tourism. Violence against women, prison reform, the plight of South Africa's former guerrilla fighters, transformation in South African rugby and the post-apartheid role of the church all come under the spotlight in the society section. The volume concludes with a look at trends in the continuing involvement of South African business on the African continent, South Africa's part in the complex search for peace and stability in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the life of the vast Zimbabwean exile community in South Africa.

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