SMALL TOWN RENAISSANCE

A study of the Montana Study this examines the experiment designed to strengthen and improve the lot of small towns and records the rumors and misunderstandings which hindered but did not wreck its operation. Sketching in the characteristics of Montana development, of the growth and power of the Company (Anaconda Copper and Montana Power), this then presents the problem, originally faced by Chancellor Melby of the University of Montana, of not only bringing stability to life today but also of ""getting the university off the campus"". There is the fight to get support, the participation in Rockefeller Foundation funds, the formation and working scale of study groups in small rural areas. How they were started, how the people's interest was aroused, and what the rewards were in Lonepine, Darby. Stevensville, Conrad, Lewistown, and Libby. With still another objective -- to keep larger numbers of young people from leaving their home towns -- this shows how community study groups can help to prevent social decay and improve human relations. A heartening account of special interest to state programs connected with similar problems, to social and community workers.