Nameless Towns

by Thad Sitton, James H. Conrad

1998 · University of Texas Press

Winner, T. H. Fehrenbach Award, Texas Historical Commission Sawmill communities were once the thriving centers of East Texas life. Many sprang up almost overnight in a pine forest clearing, and many disappeared just as quickly after the company "cut out" its last trees. But during their heyday, these company towns made Texas the nation's third-largest lumber producer and created a colorful way of life that lingers in the memories of the remaining former residents and their children and grandchildren. Drawing on oral history, company records, and other archival sources, Sitton and Conrad recreate the lifeways of the sawmill communities. They describe the companies that ran the mills and the different kinds of jobs involved in logging and milling. They depict the usually rough-hewn towns, with their central mill, unpainted houses, company store, and schools, churches, and community centers. And they characterize the lives of the people, from the hard, awesomely dangerous mill work to the dances, picnics, and other recreations that offered welcome diversions.

To Catch a Tiger

by James Bennett

2015 · Lulu.com

"A true story of how racism nearly destroyed a small Southern community. Based on historical events that happened between 1958 and 1960 in Front Royal, Virginia, this autobiographical work of creative non-fiction follows the lives of two boys -- one white and one black. The two are wo are caught up in the calamity when their small, Southern community becomes the first place in the nation where the public high school is closed to avoid being integrated. Their town is divided between hard-line, old South segregationists and those who support integration. Although the boys' experiences are very different, their dreams and aspirations are similar. Both Davey and Jackie find themselves on perilous paths where they have little control over what will happen to them."--Amazon.com