Plains Folk: Newcomers Have an Impact on Plains Culture

Tom Isern, Professor of History
North Dakota State University

Wherever I travel on the plains, in churches or taverns alike, I ask if there is anyone new in town, and you know, there always is. Different parts of the plains are on different pages–North Dakota is not the same as Nebraska–but there is a common theme among all: people are moving to the plains. They are taking up residence in places that are not accustomed to newcomers, because for the past half-century or so, people left but no one came.

I'm not talking about big economic frontiers here, the sort of migration that follows meat packing plants or other macro-economic developments. I'm talking about migration by personal choice, people deciding they want to live in a different sort of place and finding it in Cottonwood Falls, Kan., or Drake, N. D.

I talk to these people, asking about their motives and circumstances, and I discover a classic mix of push and pull forces such as sociologists and historians find in all great migrations of humankind. Often people are fleeing conditions in some urban (generally West Coast) setting–perhaps getting the kids out of some place where they were likely to get into trouble. Often, too, however, they are seeking something positive–such as opportunities for their kids to go to a smaller school and for themselves to make a difference in a community.

These people, the newcomers, are more important culturally than statistically. Whether or not they total enough to offset continuing out-migration, they bring about a change in local attitude. Their new neighbors look at them and say, maybe this isn't just a place to get out of. We must have something good here.

Across the country there are various publications and organizations dedicated to telling us where to live. Money Magazine publishes its ratings of the "Most Liveable Cities in America." This quality-of life index is not too useful for us on the plains, as the smallest of its winning cities, Sarasota, Florida, has a half-million people. Moreover, this and other big indexes factor in things like symphonies and universities not likely to be found in country towns on the plains.

So an author named Norman Campton wrote The Hundred Best Small Towns in America to profile smaller communities. This is not much more help, though, because it does rankings simply on the basis of a small number of statistical factors. It would not help a prospective migrant to the plains find the right place to live.

What we need in this part of the country is two things. First, we need to know what motivates the newcomers. This cannot be done with questionnaires. Every person, every family has a story. We need these stories. From the stories we can discern themes, patterns of life and longing. From them we will learn what things the newcomers seek and the language in which to describe those things.

Second–if we are interested in newcomers, and I can tell you, some communities are and some aren't–we need to assess ourselves according to the newcomers' themes and present ourselves in their terms. A country-town quality of life index might lie in there somewhere, but if so, I suspect it will be different in both factors and approach from the big national ones.

Anyway, I am a collector of stories. Lately I've been hearing from grizzled veterans of six-man football, seasoned purveyors of Knoepflesuppe, and other keepers of Great Plains traditions, and I'm grateful. You newcomers out there, though–what are your stories? How did you come? How has it worked out?

(Tom Isern can be reached via mail to Minard Hall 412C, NDSU, Fargo ND 58105-5075, or via e-mail to isern@plainsfolk.com.)

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Source: Tom Isern, (701) 799-2941, isern@plainsfolk.com 
Editor: Gary Moran, (701) 231-7865, gmoran@ndsuext.nodak.edu 

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